noon
It was the thundering song of the sea that he had heard Samuel Jarvis sing in the Kentucky Mountains : They bore him away when the day had fled , And the storm was rolling high , And they laid him down in his lonely bed By the light of an angry sky . The lightning flashed and the wild sea lashed The shore with its foaming wave , And the thunder passed on the rushing blast , As it howled o'er the rover 's grave . He pressed on , hour after hour , through the deep woods , meeting no one , but content . At noon his horse suddenly showed signs of great weariness , and Dick , remembering how much he had ridden him over muddy roads , gave him a long rest . Besides , there was no need to hurry . The Southern army was at Corinth , in Mississippi , three or four days ' journey away , and there had been no scouts or skirmishers in the woods between . After a stop of an hour he remounted and rode on again , but the horse was still feeling his great strain , and he did not push him beyond a walk .