noon
`` I wish you success , and hope no harm will come to you ; '' and Tom went out and mounted the horse that had been provided for him , and shaking hands with the kind settler who brought him there , he saw Mrs. McElroy and Alice waving their handkerchiefs , as he and the men rode in military order out of the square . The horses were in good order , and the men in fine spirits , glad , after their idle life within the fort , to be sent on active duty . The day was almost cloudless , the air pure and bracing , and they coursed the smooth prairies at a rapid rate . Yet to Tom 's anxious heart the moments seemed long ; and when they stopped at noon for refreshment , and to bait the horses , Tom could scarcely brook the delay . He was really on his way with a brave band for the rescue . The thought of this was joyful to him , yet he was afraid that they might arrive too late ; and as the soldiers lay upon the grass eating their rations , Captain Manly , reading his feelings , said to him , -- `` Be patient , my dear boy ; be patient . The old saying , ` Prayer and provender hinder no man 's journey , ' is as true in war as in peace . ''