noon
She brushed her hair back from her forehead and , squeezing Juno 's mane , she added , `` We do n't want to go back yet , though . Not yet , do we , Juno , even if it rains trouble instead of rain ? Inherited pride and the will to do as we please make us defy the plains , still . '' The day was exceedingly hot , but by noon a cloud seemed rising in the northwest ; not a glorious , black thunder-cloud that means cool wind and sharp lightning and a shower of longed-for rain . A yellow-gray cloud with no deeper nor shallower tints to it , rising steadily , moving swiftly , shut off the noonday glare . The shadows deepened below this strange un-cloud-like cloud , not dark , but dense . The few chickens in the settlement mistook the clock and went to roost .