noon
Yesterday , having bought two pillows to sit on , I found the jolting more endurable , and was able to see some of the beauty through which we were passing . There is no level land , nothing but creeks and mountains , the latter steep , though not very high , and covered mostly with virgin forest , though here and there a cornfield runs half-way up , and a lonely log house nestles at the base . There were looms and spinning-wheels in the porches of these homes , and always numbers of children ran out to see us pass . Just at noon we turned into Perilous Creek , the one the school is on . Here the bed was unusually wide and smooth , and I was enjoying the respite from racking and jolting , when Howard said with an anxious brow , `` All these nice smooth places is liable to be quicksands , -- last time I come over , it took four ox-teams to pull my span and wagon out . That 's how it gets its name , -- Perilous . '' We escaped the quicks , thank heaven , and just at dark the welcome lights of the school shone out in the narrow valley .