noon
Fred realized this when the party had traveled for several hours through the dense forest . From the position of the sun he could tell what time of the day it was , yet he knew , too , that they had not covered more than a mile . There were creeks to cross , swamps to circumvent , fallen trees to avoid , and difficulties of all kinds . At noon the three held a council and considered what to do . `` The guide was right in saying that we can not travel through the woods on horseback , '' Fred began ; `` I fear we must get rid of the steeds . '' `` But how are we to walk through this mass of entanglement , '' Agnes asked . `` We certainly wo n't make headway without the horses . ''