noon
`` A bad omen , '' said Wilson . `` Yes , in the Highlands , '' repeated Mulrady . `` What 's bad in the Highlands is not better here , '' returned Wilson sententiously . Toward noon they had crossed the Sierra , and descended into the undulating plains which extend to the sea . Limpid RIOS intersected these plains , and lost themselves among the tall grasses . The ground had once more become a dead level , the last mountains of the Pampas were passed , and a long carpet of verdure unrolled itself over the monotonous prairie beneath the horses ' tread . Hitherto the weather had been fine , but to-day the sky presented anything but a reassuring appearance .