About
noon
He felt that Morgan was in serious trouble , and in danger of losing his position , and that he was already where it would take very little to drive him to complete ruin . He resolved to seize the first opportunity that presented itself , to try to ascertain the cause of his trouble , and to assist him in any way that he possibly could . On reaching the office , he found considerable work awaiting him , and for a while , all other thoughts were banished from his mind . About noon , a heavy rumbling and rattling attracted his attention , and , going to the door , he saw the slowly approaching team , winding from side to side of the steep , canyon road , the powerful horses straining and panting under the heavy load . Perched on the top of the load , under a wide-spread umbrella , and fanning himself with his straw hat , was Van Dorn , his face irradiated by a broad smile as he caught sight of Houston . Two of the men walked beside the team , blocking the wheels with rocks , as the horses were occasionally stopped to rest . As they came within speaking distance , Van Dorn sang out merrily : `` I say , Houston , this is what I call up-hill work ; it has been a pretty hard pull all the way . ''