noon
Although the sun was well above the horizon when I awoke , I started out on the fourth morning eager to achieve the entrance to the _ château _ . First I plodded back to the two mountains which guarded the approach to the valley , then worked round along the flank of the ridge of peaks , searching for an entrance . The further I went , however , the higher and more precipitous became the mountains . I realized that there was little chance of finding any access along this side , so after my noon meal I ascended one of the lower elevations in order to obtain my bearings . But I could discern neither _ château _ nor lake nor waterfall , and the sound of the torrent , far away to the left , came to my ears only as a faint distant murmur . I was far out of the way . The snow , which had been falling at intervals during each day since Jacqueline 's abduction , had long ago covered up the tracks of the sleigh .