noon
And all that night he attacked Leothric fiercely , and oft-times nearly caught him in the darkness ; for his gleaming eyes of steel could see as well by night as by day . And Leothric gave ground slowly till the dawn , and when the light came they were near the village again ; yet not so near to it as they had been when they encountered , for Leothric drove Tharagavverug farther in the day than Tharagavverug had forced him back in the night . Then Leothric drove him again with his stick till the hour came when it was the custom of the dragon-crocodile to find his man . One third of his man he would eat at the time he found him , and the rest at noon and evening . But when the hour came for finding his man a great fierceness came on Tharagavverug , and he grabbed rapidly at Leothric , but could not seize him , and for a long while neither of them would retire . But at last the pain of the stick on his leaden nose overcame the hunger of the dragon-crocodile , and he turned from it howling . From that moment Tharagavverug weakened .