noon
`` Whichever you prefer , major . Weeks has been devoting himself to Blunt , though of course I could relieve him there . When could we get back ? '' `` Not before noon to-morrow . The wounded are ` way down at Royal 's Ford , where Terry had left them with two or three men , and pushed on after the Indians with the rest . They tricked him , I fancy , and he is n't in good humor . '' By this time the quartet had entered the office , and there , handing the despatch to his adjutant , and bidding the orderly close the door , the major seated himself at his desk ; invited the others to draw up their chairs ; produced a map of the Platte country and the trails to the Sioux Reservation over along the White River , and bade the adjutant read aloud .