noon
He heard the excited Pe-wee -- Pe-wee -- Pe-wee of a startled little gray-back giving warning of an unwelcome intruder near its nest . And he rose to his feet , laughing softly as he thumbed down the tobacco in his pipe . Jeanne Marie-Anne Boulain might believe in him , but Bateese and her wary henchmen had ways of their own of strengthening their faith . It was close to noon when he turned back , and he did not return by the moose path . Deliberately he struck out a hundred yards on either side of it , traveling where the moss grew thick and the earth was damp and soft . And five times he found the moccasin-prints of men . Bateese , with his sleeves up , was scrubbing the deck of the bateau when David came over the plank .