noon
* * * * * On Tuesday the surveying party began work on the Helton property . This was so distant from Saylor 's that they thought of moving headquarters to Asher Brock 's at the head of the creek valley ; but as a couple of days would complete the work they concluded to remain where they were , riding forth in the morning and back in the evening . Mary fixed a lunch , which was placed in a grain sack and tied behind Cornwall 's saddle . Near noon they stopped to rest and eat under some elms in the upper creek valley , when Cornwall discovered that the lunch was gone , the sack having been pulled off while he was riding through the dense underbrush . Their appetites were whetted by the smell of frying ham , wind-wafted down the creek from Asher Brock 's . They rode to the house and asked to share the meal . The maintainer is like the Arab ; he never refuses to entertain a guest .