Twelve o'clock
Time enough to git to our place to-morrow . '' Johnnie , who knew that her uncle hoped to reach the Consadine cabin by noon , instantly understood that he considered the possibility of this boy being a sort of picket posted to interview passers-by ; and that the intention was to misinform him , so that he should not carry news of their approach . After this , they met no one , but swung on at their best pace , and for the most part in silence , husbanding strength and breath . Twelve o'clock saw them entering that gash of the hills where the little cabin crouched against the great mountain wall . The ground became so rocky , that the track of the automobile was lost . At first it would be visible now and again on a bit of sandy loam , chain marks showing , where the tire left no impression ; but , within a mile or so of the Consadine home , it seemed to have left the trail . When this point arrived , Johnnie differed from her uncle in choosing to hold to the road .