noon
Now , do not let us talk . It will make us more hungry . '' Adan groaned , but accepted the decree of silence . The day wore on to noon , and in the unbroken stillness the boys ventured out of the grimy tree and lay at full length on the turf . The great redwoods towered in endless corridors , their straight columns unbroken by branch or twig for a hundred and fifty feet . Through the green close arbours above came an occasional rift of sunshine , but the aisles were full of cold green light . The boys shivered in their coyote skin coats and drew close together ; they dared not run about to keep warm ; they must husband their strength , and hunger was biting .