noon
He had done with the fellow , and if Watson could get him out of the hotel , it did not matter if he reached home or not . Ringing for the bell-boy , he gave orders about being called in the morning , as he meant to leave by an early west-bound train . Thirlwell had been to the railroad settlement , and returning with Father Lucien , camped on the trail not far from the mine . The day had been unusually warm and at noon the pines dripped in the sun and the snow got damp . At dusk it began to freeze and a haze hung about the woods and obscured the moon , but , by contrast with the rigors of winter , Thirlwell sitting by the camp-fire , felt almost uncomfortably warm . Father Lucien had taken off his furs and sat with a blanket over his shoulders on a bundle of dry twigs . Both had hung their moccasins up to dry near the heap of snapping branches .