noon
The adjutant could not fail to note that Van was almost always to be seen standing at the kitchen door , and on those rare occasions when he himself was permitted to invade those premises he was never surprised to find Van 's shapely head peering in at the window , or head , neck , and shoulders bulging in at the wood-shed beyond . Yet the ex-champion and racer did not live an idle existence . He had his hours of duty , and keenly relished them . Office-work over at orderly-call , at high noon it was the adjutant 's custom to return to his quarters and speedily to appear in riding-dress on the front piazza . At about the same moment Van , duly caparisoned , would be led forth from his paddock , and in another moment he and his rider would be flying off across the breezy level of the prairie . Cheyenne , as has been said , lay just three miles away , and thither Van would speed with long , elastic strides , as though glorying in his powers . It was at once his exercise and his enjoyment , and to his rider it was the best hour of the day .