Noon
The day wore on , and had it not been for Jacques Robe 's positive assertion that he had escaped from an unusually large body of Blackfeet , it might have been supposed that there was no cause for alarm . Not even a buffalo or deer appeared . That , however , was not unusual ; indeed , the only cause to create suspicion was that no traders , either Indians or others , arrived at the fort . Noon had passed , and had Jules Buffet ridden as fast as he proposed , Loraine and his companions might soon return . Still they did not appear . Sybil and Effie frequently went to the southern platform to look out , but returned each time disappointed . Captain Mackintosh , who had gone to the top of the look-out tower , swept with his telescope the horizon to the south and west , towards which the glowing sun was once more sinking .