noon
Her little face looked very white , as she stood on the bank , and , somehow , Chad saw it all that night in the river and among the trees and up among the stars , but he little knew what it all meant to him or to her . He thought of the Turners back at home , and he could see them sitting around the big fire -- Joel with his pipe , the old mother spinning flax , Jack asleep on the hearth , and Melissa 's big solemn eyes shining from the dark corner where she lay wide-awake in bed and , when he went to sleep , her eyes followed him in his dreams . When he awoke , the day was just glimmering over the hills , and the chill air made him shiver , as he built up the fire and began to get breakfast ready . At noon , that day , though the cliffs were still high , the raft swung out into a broader current , where the water ran smoothly and , once , the hills parted and , looking past a log-cabin on the bank of the river , Chad saw a stone house -- relic of pioneer days -- and , farther out , through a gap in the hills , a huge house with great pillars around it and , on the hill-side , many sheep and fat cattle and a great barn . There dwelt one of the lords of the Bluegrass land , and again Chad looked to the school-master and , this time , the school-master smiled and nodded as though to say : `` We 're getting close now , Chad . '' So Chad rose to his feet thrilled , and watched the scene until the hills shut it off again . One more night and one more dawn , and , before the sun rose , the hills had grown smaller and smaller and the glimpses between them more frequent and , at last , far down the river , Chad saw a column of smoke and all the men on the raft took off their hats and shouted .