noon
And now Rodriguez saw the design was a crown , a plain gold circlet with oak leaves rising up from it . And this woodland emblem stood up out of the gold , for the worker had hollowed the coin away all around it , and was sloping it up to the edge . Little was said by the watchers in the wonder of seeing the work , for no craft is very far from the line beyond which is magic , and the man in the leather coat was clearly a craftsman : and he said nothing for he worked at a craft . And when the arboreal crown was finished , and its edges were straight and sharp , an hour had passed since he began near noon . Then he drilled a hole near the rim and , drawing a thin green ribbon from his pocket , he passed it through the hole and , rising , he suddenly hung it round Rodriguez ' neck . `` Wear it thus , '' he said , `` while you go through Shadow Valley . '' As he said this he stepped back among the trees , and Rodriguez followed to thank him .