noon
Then we found some things like sweet potatoes , and Tom had a box of matches which was a great boon to us . '' `` Well , that is better than we had when we landed , '' and George laughed at the reminiscence . `` In our wanderings we lost all trace of time , of distance and of direction . We knew that the sun came from the east and set in the west , and we knew that the shadow of the sun was thrown to the north at noon , but it did n't make much difference to us which way we went . '' George could n't help interrupting : `` Why , do n't you know we are south of the equator , and that at noon the sun throws its shadow to the south ? '' `` In our condition we did n't stop to consider any of those things . We were mostly hungry , and tired with wandering .