noon
He was n't a ` bad ' man , mind you -- not brave enough for that , but keen-nosed as a moose , conceited as an Indian -- '' `` What was his name ? '' `` Oh , Dick or Vic Something-or-other , I do n't know what . He 's a bragging renegade , anyway . '' Unaware of a reconnoitre , the occupants of the line of shanties slumbered serenely on ; and not until noon did high plumes of smoke , straight as the flag-pole on the parade-ground , announce , to the secretly delighted troopers at Brannon , their tardy rising . Dallas , too , saw the busy chimneys . But while watching them intently from an open window , her attention was attracted , all at once , in the opposite direction . She heard , coming out of the coulée , a chorus of shrill talking , like the pow-wow of a flock of prairie-chickens .