noon
Rand had taken advantage of his brother 's absence to `` prospect '' in the `` drift , '' -- a proceeding utterly at variance with his previous condemnation of all such speculative essay ; but Rand , despite his assumption of a superior practical nature , was not above certain local superstitions . Having that morning put on his gray flannel shirt wrong side out , -- an abstraction recognized among the miners as the sure forerunner of divination and treasure-discovery , -- he could not forego that opportunity of trying his luck , without hazarding a dangerous example . He was also conscious of feeling `` chipper , '' -- another local expression for buoyancy of spirit , not common to men who work fifty feet below the surface , without the stimulus of air and sunshine , and not to be overlooked as an important factor in fortunate adventure . Nevertheless , noon came without the discovery of any treasure . He had attacked the walls on either side of the lateral `` drift '' skilfully , so as to expose their quality without destroying their cohesive integrity , but had found nothing . Once or twice , returning to the shaft for rest and air , its grim silence had seemed to him pervaded with some vague echo of cheerful holiday voices above . This set him to thinking of his brother 's equally extravagant fancy of the wailing voices in the air on the night of the fire , and of his attributing it to a lover 's abstraction .