noon
The morning waned and the afternoon was speeding . Old Pratt , with Beth and Glen , was eager to finish by sunset . The farther he walked the more the surveyor apparently warmed to his work . Beth became footsore by noon . But she made no complaint . She plodded doggedly ahead , the ribbon-like `` chain '' creeping like a serpent , on and on before her . At the forward end Glen was dragging the thing persistently over hills and dales , and bearing the rod for Pratt with his transit to sight .