noon
`` The directions given by the hostages were exact . But that is about the only thing that did come easily . The rest was all procrastination . `` At noon , on the tenth day out , we saw , ahead of us on a ridge , a single Indian . I selected four men to make a swift detour , thinking that perhaps they would discover a hunting-party just over the crest . But the slope beyond was unoccupied , and there were only the marks of one pair of moccasins . I concluded that the solitary brave was scouting , and I was right .