noon
Up and down she walked , her whiplash trailing behind her like a lively snake , her hands striving to guide the cleaving share she followed , a look of deep content , despite all fear for bad weather , upon her sun-browned face . But while , working the morning hours slowly away , she gave full attention to the nodding mules and the young bull straggling at their head , she did not stop to watch the flocks winging by above her , or to look off to where the plains fell away from the pale azure line of the sky . So she failed to see , at the middle of the long forenoon , a group of dark figures that came into sight to the eastward and moved slowly forward in the direction of the bend . Toward noon , however , the furrows were turned less regularly . Ben and Betty were so tired that they no longer drew evenly , but wavered from side to side . Again and again the off mule jerked the share out of the sod ; each time Dallas patiently circled the team and steered it back into place again , for her arms were not strong enough to swing the plow on the whiffletrees . And each time Simon caught sight of her red flannel petticoat , and , faint , half-awakened objections stirring beneath his sprouting horns , came back to challenge the goading colour and butt her crossly in the skirts .