midday
Looking back , she saw nothing unusual , for in this place the road wound about U 's and S 's in the mountainside , and one could not see far along it , either ahead or behind . Deciding that a tree had fallen , she dismissed the matter from her thoughts , and gave her attention to manipulating the jerkline over an exacting piece of road . She worked out of the curves eventually , to see the other teams moving placidly along ahead of her , but now she and Hiram had caught up again . She spoke about it when they camped for the midday rest . It was Hiram who made reply . `` I was wondering at their speed , too , Jo , '' he said . `` The rest of 'em were all way ahead of me and out o ' sight for twenty minutes , maybe . ''