noon
He gave the three horses a hasty pat apiece and started back across the meadow to the fence . They followed him like pet dogs -- and when Bud glanced back over his shoulder he saw in the dim light that Smoky walked with a slight limp . Sunday happened to be fair , with not too strong a wind blowing . Before noon Little Lost ranch was a busy place , and just before dinner it became busier . Horse-racing seemed to be as popular a sport in the valley as dancing . Indeed , men came riding in who had not come to the dance . The dry creek-bed where the horses would run had no road leading to it , so that all vehicles came to Little Lost and remained there while the passengers continued on foot to the races .