noon
`` Well , if you do n't like to see it , I will try and repress it in future . '' `` I hope you will when I 'm about . '' The two hurried on without further conversation for some time . At noon they made a shorter halt than usual , as Kent informed Leslie that , by pressing forward , they could gain the region of the savages by nightfall . As the afternoon advanced , the experienced eye of the hunter began to detect unmistakable signs of the presence of Indians . Leslie could not repress his agitation as he realized that every minute was bringing him nearer and nearer to the object of his desires . Fear and hope filled him , and he was alternately gladdened by the one and tormented by the other .