noon
What a foolish girl she had been to get herself into this fix ! And now there was no father to send out search parties for her , and no missionary at home to find her ! The dust , the growing heat of the day , and the anxiety began to wear upon her . She was tired and hungry , and when at noon the Indian dismounted beside a water-hole where the water tasted of sheep who had passed through but a short time before , and handed her a package of corn bread and cold bacon , while he withdrew to the company of the horses for his own siesta , she was feign to put her head down on the coarse grass and weep for her folly in coming out to this wild country alone , or at least in being so headstrong as to stay when Amelia Ellen deserted her . Then the thought suddenly occurred to her : how would Amelia Ellen have figured in this morning 's journey on horseback ; and instead of weeping she fell to laughing almost hysterically . She munched the corn bread -- the bacon she could not eat -- and wondered if the woman at the stopping-place had realized what an impossible lunch she had provided for her guest . However , here was one of the tests .