noon
And at the end of these nine miles Morano perceived a house , a little way from the road , on the left , upon rising ground . A mile or so ahead they saw the narrow wood that they had viewed in the morning from the mountain running across the plain . They saw now by the lie of the ground that it probably followed a stream , a pleasant place in which to take the rest demanded by Spain at noon . It was just an hour to noon ; so Rodriguez , keeping the road , told Morano to join him where it entered the wood when he had acquired his bacon . And then as they parted a thought occurred to Rodriguez , which was that bacon cost money . It was purely an afterthought , an accidental fancy , such as inspirations are , for he had never had to buy bacon . So he gave Morano a fifth part of his money , a large gold coin the size of one of our five-shilling pieces , engraved of course upon one side with the glories and honours of that golden period of Spain , and upon the other with the head of the lord the King .