noon
Leaning well forward he dropped into a long , easy lope , which carried him over the ground rapidly . Hard as nails and spurred on by the need of his companions , the lad pushed on and on , blazing his trail as he went , not feeling any fatigue to speak of . Now and then he would pause for a few moments to make sure that he was not straying from the river gorge , which occasional rocks and foliage hid from his view . At noon Tad sat down and ate another egg . `` I must be getting near the place , '' he mused . Still there was no trace of human habitation . There remained nothing for him to do save to push on , which he did stubbornly .