noon
I had a good horse waiting for me at the hotel shed , and soon we were on the return trip . `` The further north we went the more beautiful and wilder the scenery became until I thought we would be lost in the dense primeval forests . How Dean managed to find his way I could not make out , but he seemed to know every stump , every mound , and every blaze on the trees along the trail . `` We stopped at noon to rest the horses and have a bite to eat . While we lay under the trees smoking our pipes and waiting for the horses to finish their oats , an old hunter passed by . `` We invited him to join us but he was anxious to meet an Indian trapper some miles further on , so we were compelled to decline Dean 's invitation . `` After finishing our pipes , we started on the last half of our journey .