Noon
`` He has been gone more than an hour , and there 's no saying when he will be back . He has his own way of managing this business , and , though I concede his skill and superior knowledge in this part of the world , it is hard to keep my patience when I see the hours slipping away without bringing any results . '' But the patience of the three men was tried more sorely than ever before , and to a greater extent than any one of them anticipated . Noon came and passed and without bringing Vose Adams . The party partook sparingly of their lunch , leaving enough for their absent friend , but the lagging hours wore away and they still waited . They said little to one another , but the captain , unable to restrain his restlessness , wandered down the cañon . The two left behind watched him until he passed from view in the direction taken by Colonel Briggs and his company .