Noon
Big Medicine roared cheerfully , inspecting a battered plug of `` chewin ' '' to see where was the most inviting corner in which to set his teeth . `` Me 'n' trouble has locked horns more 'n once , 'n' I 'd feel right lonesome if I thought our trails 'd never cross agin . Why , down in Coconino County -- '' He went off into a long recital of certain extremely bloody chapters in the history of that famed county as chronicled by one Bud Welch , otherwise known as Big Medicine -- and not because of his modesty , you may be sure . Noon of that day found them plodding across a high , barren mesa under a burning sun . Since red dawn they had been riding , and the horses showed their need of water . They lagged often into a heavy-footed walk and their ears drooped dispiritedly . Even Big Medicine found nothing cheerful to say .