noon
Miss Allen thought that was what he said , but at the time she did not quite understand , except his denial of being a baby ; that was clear enough . She turned to the climb , feeling that she must hurry if she expected to get him and take him home before dark . She knew that every minute was precious and must not be wasted . It was well after noon -- she had forgotten to eat her lunch , but her watch said it was nearly one o'clock already . She had no idea how far she had ridden , but she thought it must be twelve miles at least . She had no idea , either , how far she had run down the butte to the cliff -- until she began to climb back . Every rod or so she stopped to rest and to look back and to call to the Kid who seemed such a tiny mite of humanity among these huge peaks and fearsome gorges .