noon
inquired Glenn , pausing , after they had walked some distance in silence . `` Because I do n't know what you 're after , '' replied Joe . `` You 'll see what I 'm after , '' said Glenn , setting forward , and continuing his course along the cliff . A snow of several feet in depth rested on the earth , and the sun that shone forth at noon had melted the surface so frequently , that the freezing nights which had as often succeeded had formed an icy incrustation quite strong enough to bear the weight of a man . Though it was a dreary waste , yet Glenn gleaned a satisfaction in casting his eyes around where his glance beheld no one striving to oppress his fellow being that he might acquire riches and power , to be again snatched from his grasp by others , but a peaceful scene , fresh from the hand of God , and unmarred by the workmanship of meaner creatures . The broad river far below was covered with a massy plate of ice , and the snow that rested upon it gave it the appearance of an immense plain , rather than an incrusted surface of the most perturbed and erratic stream in the world . The geese and other fowl that wandered over the frozen surface in quest of their native element , from the great distance down , seemed to be no larger than sparrows .