noon
She was proud of her property . Sometimes _ la vieille _ -- for she was _ la vieille _ from the very day that she counted her wedding presents , mostly chickens , and turned them loose in the dooryard -- sometimes she enjoyed the fine excitement of seeing her _ vieux _ catching and branding his yearling colts . Small but not uncomely they were : tougher , stronger , better when broken , than the mustang , though , like the mustang , begotten and foaled on the open prairie . Often she saw him catch two for the plough in the morning , turn them loose at noon to find their own food and drink , and catch and work another pair through the afternoon . So what did not give her pride gave her quiet comfort . Sometimes she looked forth with an anxious eye , when a colt was to be broken for the saddle ; for as its legs were untied , and it sprang to its feet with ` Thanase in the saddle , and the blindfold was removed from its eyes , the strain on the young wife 's nerves was as much as was good , to see the creature 's tremendous leaps in air and not tremble for its superb , unmovable rider . Could scholarship be finer than -- or as fine as -- such horsemanship ?