noon
Amos Swan heard their news with a grave face . No ship but the _ Queen _ had touched at the island for several months to his knowledge , he said . He agreed with the boys that the secrecy of the thing looked suspicious . When Tom came in for the noon meal , his father told him of the discovery and they both decided to bring the sheep in at once , and make preparations for possible trouble . Tom , armed , and accompanied by the boys , set out soon after dinner for the western end of the island , two miles from the shack . It was there that the flock was accustomed to graze , shepherded by the wise dog , Jock . Their way led along the rocky northern slope , where the sheep had already worn well-defined paths among the scrubby grass and juniper patches , then up across a steep knoll and through a belt of fir and hemlock .