noon
The season had been an unusually favorable one for Wyoming , the rains having been all that was required to make the grass succulent , nourishing and abundant . They could have turned their ponies loose at any point , after leaving the railway behind them , and the animals would have been able to crop their fill . It was the same over hundreds of square miles , a fact which readily explains why many portions of Wyoming rank as the best grazing country in the world . It was not yet noon when they rode down a slight declivity to a stream several rods in width . The water was so clear that the bottom could be plainly seen from their saddles , the depth being no more than two or three feet . The ponies paused to drink , and , as they emerged on the other side and started up the gentle slope , Hazletine suggested that for a time at least they should be held down to a walk . One anxiety began to impress itself upon the minds of Jack and Fred .