noon
George took the hint . He meant to escape and attend the court , but he had no wish to ruin any chance of his doing so by making a premature attempt . His captors meant to prevent his seeing which way they were going , but he could make out that the sky was brightest on the left side of the wagon , which indicated that they were heading south . They stopped at noon in a thick bluff , from which , when he was released and allowed to get down , he could see nothing of the prairie . Only one man remained to watch him ; but as he was armed , and George could hear the others not far away , he decided that his escape must be postponed . During the afternoon , they went on again , George occupying his former position in the bottom of the wagon , where it was unpleasantly hot ; but the strongest glare was now on his right side , which showed him that they were still holding south . Their destination was evidently the American frontier .