noon
Comparatively narrow as was the ribbon path cleared by this appliance , its length was only limited by the endurance of the horses and the driver , and in the course of the day many an acre could be uncovered . Half an hour after sunrise , the eight outfits thus equipped were lined up side by side and headed due northwest to a range which had been but little pastured . For five miles straight as a taut line they went , leaving behind them eight brown stripes alternating with bands of white between . Then back and forth , back and forth , for the distance of another mile they vibrated until it was noon , when eight more connecting brown ribbons were stretched beside their predecessors back to the ranch-house . In the afternoon the labor was repeated , until by night the clearing , a gigantic mottled fan with an abnormally long handle , lay in vivid contrast against the surrounding white . The second day was the same , except that but seven bands stretched out behind the moving squad . Rankin , game as he was , could scarcely put one foot ahead of the other , and in consequence , changing his tactics , he mounted the old buckboard and departed on a tour of inspection toward the north range .