midday
When the Buck 's Crossing wagon arrived there an hour or so later , its driver seemed surprised that there was no dog for him to carry with Sergeant Vaughan 's kit . But he was not a man given to speculation . He just grunted , expectorated , and said , shortly : `` Well , I guess that 's right , then . Muster made some other arrangement ; an ' it 's just as well , for I 'm late an ' I 've got to have my near front wheel off an ' doctor it a bit , so I wo n't make the Crossin ' till midday to-morrow , I reckon . I 'll be campin ' at Lloyd 's to-night . '' Overalls just nodded as he took the wagoner 's signature for Sergeant Vaughan 's kit ; and without another thought both men dismissed from their rather vacant minds -LRB- as was perfectly natural , no doubt -RRB- all further thought of a matter which did not concern them , despite its life-and-death importance to the son of Finn and Desdemona . After perhaps an hour and a half , the buckboard was pulled up in a fenced yard beside a small homestead .