noon
They passed many pretty homesteads nestling cosily in sheltered nooks ; but no smoke rose from their chimneys ; they all seemed to have been deserted in a hurry . Their occupants had doubtless fled into Battleford . What if they had been too late to reach that haven of refuge ! At noon the travellers stopped in a little wooded valley for dinner . It was more like a picnic party than that of refugees fleeing for their lives . The Scotswoman actually made a dish of pancakes for the troopers , because she said there was one of them who reminded her of her own son , whom she had not seen for many a long day . The sincere thanks of the hungry ones were more than recompense for the worthy dame .