midday
Every landmark was known -- the course of every stream ; each tree , by the direction in which it threw its boughs and by the mosses at the foot of its trunk , told the points of the compass . Yet there were probably , in so large an extent of country , many wild glens and deep fastnesses hitherto untraversed , and these had to be discovered and explored . Straight through the territory assigned to them marched our little band ; keen-nosed dogs went first , secured by leashes , that the game they continually aroused might not lead them astray ; men followed who , like American Indians , looked for `` trails '' in every soft surface of ground , and along the banks of each stream of sweet water , where men might come to drink , but by noon they had traversed the whole extent of their territory in a straight line , and discovered nothing . Once , indeed , they thought they were on the scent of man ; but they had crossed the trail of a wild boar and could not restrain themselves from following it up , the scent was so fresh , and herein they wasted much time , but succeeded in killing their boar ; and Etienne at once proposed that , since it was midday , they should light a fire and dine upon its flesh . The forester , old Ralph , objected that the smoke would reveal their presence , and frustrate the object of their expedition ; but the young noble replied so rudely that the old man withdrew his objection . The fire was kindled , the smoke arose high above the tree tops in the clear atmosphere , and soon the poor boar was dissected , and the choicest parts of his flesh held on spits . 'T was somewhat fresh , but none the worse , thought the roasters , for that .