midday
At daybreak the Westerner was astir , being alive with eagerness and impatience , as he repeatedly declared they would behold the wonderful Silver Palace before another sunset . Eating a hasty breakfast , they pushed forward , with the Westerner in the lead . Once more the tower of smoke , which they had noted the day before , was before them , but now it seemed blacker and more ominous than on the previous day . It was not far from midday when , away to the westward , they heard rumbling sounds , like distant thunder . `` Vot id vas , ain 'd id ? '' asked Hans , in alarm . `` I don 'd seen no dunder shower coming up somevere , do I ? ''