noon
Polychrome 's Magic -LSB- Illustration -RSB- On this morning , which ought to be the last of this important journey , our friends started away as bright and cheery as could be , and Woot whistled a merry tune so that Polychrome could dance to the music . On reaching the top of the hill , the plain spread out before them in all its beauty of blue grasses and wildflowers , and Mount Munch seemed much nearer than it had the previous evening . They trudged on at a brisk pace , and by noon the mountain was so close that they could admire its appearance . Its slopes were partly clothed with pretty evergreens , and its foot-hills were tufted with a slender waving bluegrass that had a tassel on the end of every blade . And , for the first time , they perceived , near the foot of the mountain , a charming house , not of great size but neatly painted and with many flowers surrounding it and vines climbing over the doors and windows . It was toward this solitary house that our travelers now directed their steps , thinking to inquire of the people who lived there where Nimmie Amee might be found .