about half past one o'clock in the
afternoon
`` No , sir , I do n't give my secrets away yet awhile . Mebby I never shall . '' Stacy well knew that swift punishment would be meted out to him if the others caught him at his new trick , so the fat boy kept silent , looking the picture of innocence . The Ten-Mile cross trail was made about half past one o'clock in the afternoon . Walter Perkins entered the camp on his head , Tad Butler hanging to the mane of his bucking pony , both feet out of the stirrups , Stacy Brown making desperate efforts to quiet his own mount . The ponies had heard the soft hiss of a rattlesnake , but the ears of Rangers and Pony Riders had failed to catch the sound . Perhaps it was the yell that the fat boy had uttered instantly after giving the imitation that had too suddenly attracted the attention of the party .