noon
That night the land crouched under a terrific electric storm , with crackling swords of white death dazzling from inky black clouds , and ear-splitting thunder close on the heels of it . Bud had known such storms all his life , yet on this night he was uneasy , vaguely disturbed . He caught himself wondering if Lew Morris 's wife was frightened , and the realization that he was worrying about her fear worried him more than ever and held him awake long after the fury of the storm had passed . Next day , when he came in at noon , there was Hen , from the Muleshoe , waiting for dinner before he rode back with the mail . Hen 's jaw dropped when he saw Bud riding on a Little Lost hay-wagon , and his eyes bulged with what Bud believed was consternation . All through the meal Bud had caught Hen eyeing him miserably , and looking stealthily from him to the others . No one paid any attention , and for that Bud was rather thankful ; he did not want the Little Lost fellows to think that perhaps he had done something which he knew would hang him if it were discovered , which , he decided , was the mildest interpretation a keen observer would be apt to make of Hen 's behavior .