noon
`` So long , an ' plug blazes out of them , '' shouted Wallace as the dust swept over him . At five in the afternoon they forded the Black River at a point where it crossed the state line from New Mexico , and at dusk camped at the base of the Guadalupe Mountains . At daybreak they took up the chase , grim and merciless , and shortly afterward they passed the smoldering remains of a camp fire , showing that the pursued had been in a great hurry , for it should have been put out and masked . At noon they left the mountains to the rear and sighted the Barred Horeshoe , which they approached . The owner of the ranch saw them coming , and from their appearance surmised that something was wrong . `` What is it ? '' He shouted .