midday
When he did love , therefore , it was with his whole soul and being . His companions , less sagacious in sentimental affairs than worldly , failed to divine the cause of the singular actions of their leader , who did his utmost to conceal it from them . Little did he dream , as he listened to the enthusiastic praises of Edith by Sego , that it was the being who constantly occupied his thoughts . But the truth had broken upon him like a peal of thunder at midday . On the day succeeding Lewis ' departure from the settlers , three of his men , O'Hara , Dernor and Allmat , stood on the banks of the Miami , several hundred yards above their rendezvous . The sky was clear and sunshiny , and they were making ready for a trial of skill with their rifles . From where they stood , the most practiced eye would have failed to discover any spot which could possibly afford shelter for one of their number , much less for them all .