midday
`` He was probably shot from his own gun , '' said the guide . `` More than likely he dropped the piece from the tree , and it went off when it struck the ground . '' They bound up the wound carefully , and did all they could for the sufferer . Then , while Dick watched over Jasper Grinder , the others got rid of the wolves ' carcasses by dragging them into the timber , and then set to work to prepare the midday meal . It was fully an hour before Jasper Grinder was able to speak , and then he could say but little . But he explained how it was that he had been shot . He wanted to know if the wolves had been driven off , and begged that they would not leave him alone again .