noon
We started off soon after sun rise , amidst the faint cheers of our invalided companions , and , as it was necessary for the escorting party to return to the camp that night , it was agreed that we were to retrace our steps at noon or thereabouts . The commencement of our ride was through an open country , broken up by boulders of granite and clumps of dark grey sage trees , when , after ascending some low rocky hills , their summits crowned with a dense forest of gigantic pines , we entered a grassy valley , lined with groups of noble cedars , whose spreading branches offered a most inviting shade . Every now and then , we had to make our way down the sides of huge chasms which intercepted our progress , and then to toil slowly up the difficult ascent . At noon we halted and took shelter from the sun in a little dell with a gushing spring bubbling up in the midst , and a patch of willows fringing the banks of the running stream . We scampered our horses down it , dismounted , and , turning them loose to graze , seated ourselves at the base of a huge rock of granite . Our wallet of provisions was opened , and we soon made a hearty meal . Just as we had finished , some loose earth and a few small stones came tumbling down from above , knocking every now and then against the projecting ledges of rock in their descent .