noon
She shrugged . '' _ Eh bien _ ! '' And again they went on in silence . Toward noon , reaching a fringe of the forest , they found before them a wide open space where the ground was higher and dry , but the walking more difficult . The grass , long and tenacious , twined snake-like around their ankles ; they had to go more slowly , but reached , at length , the top of the eminence . Here Mr. Heatherbloom stopped . They ate their biscuit and rested , but only for a brief while .