noon
It 's the simplest way , and they were rough , simple-minded men . '' `` Lester , you 're a dandy , '' laughed Bill . `` We 'll have you elected a professor at Rally Hall for the first vacancy . '' But though the plan was good , it yielded no results up to the time the boys stopped work at noon to eat and rest . They were not depressed , but it was only natural that their failure should have taken some of the fine edge off their first elation . Into the mind of each had crept the hint of the smuggler that the gold was not buried , but hidden . They did not accept this as conclusive , but it helped somewhat to dampen their enthusiasm .