noon
Every man , woman , and child felt the pleasing exhilaration of knowing that something was going forward . The square two-story false fronts of the peak-roofed buildings looked with one-eyed approval upon the thronging men and women , horses and dogs , enlivening the single street of the town . A fervent sun shone gratefully upon the loungers in front of the court-house , where the snow was trodden to the solid consistency of a pavement . The noon recess was nearly over , and all were waiting for the judge and his galaxy of legal lights . Ed Rankin , a young ranchman from over beyond Emmaville , finding himself among strangers , and being as shy as a coyote , turned in at the court-house door , and was making his way toward the big air-tight stove , when he observed that the room was not empty , as he supposed it would be . In a remote corner sat a sorry-looking group , a woman and three children , their shrinking figures thinly clad , their eyes , red with crying or exposure , glancing apprehensively from side to side . The youngest of the group was a boy of ten ; he , like all the others , had the look of a hunted creature .