noon
One sense can deceive the others . A man developing all the symptoms of hydrophobia has been cured by the assurance that the dog which bit him was not mad . So these two , not yet aflame with drought , banished the arid phantom for a little while . Nevertheless , by high noon they were suffering again . The time passed very slowly . The sun rose to the zenith and filled earth and air with his ardor . It seemed to be a miracle -- now appreciated for the first time in their lives -- that the sea did not dry up , and the leaves wither on the trees .