noon
And after a time Cap'n Sproul turned and trudged back across the valley . There was such ferocity on his face when he sat down by his fire that Hiram Look gulped back the questions that were in his throat . He recognized that it was a crisis , realized that Cap'n Sproul was autocrat , and refrained from irritating speech . By noon the sun shone on Cod Lead wanly between ragged clouds . But its smile did not warm Cap'n Sproul 's feelings . Weariness , rheumatism , resentment that became bitterer the more he pondered on the loss of the _ Dobson _ , and gnawing hunger combined to make a single sentiment of sullen fury ; the spectacle of Colonel Ward busy with his schemes on the neighboring pinnacle sharpened his anger into something like ferocity . The wind had died into fitful breaths .