noon
The snows began to shrink and the drifts to settle . The air grew balmier with every day ; the drip from eaves was answered by the gurgling laughter of hidden waters . Here and there the boldest mountainsides began to show , and the tops of alder thickets thrust themselves into sight . Where wood or metal caught the sun-rays the snow retreated ; pools of ice-water began to form at noon . The days were long , too , and no frozen winds charged out of the north . As the daylight lengthened , so did the working-hours of the toilers . On April 18th the span was completed .