noon
He grasped the nearest tree , that he might not , in spite of himself , plunge back into the pale mystery of the Perdu . He rubbed his eyes sharply , drew a few long breaths to steady his heart , turned his back doggedly on the shining terror , and set forward swiftly for the farm-house , now in full view not three hundred yards away . For all the windless down-streaming summer sunshine , there was that in Reuben 's drenched clothes which chilled him to the heart . As he reached the wide-eaved cluster of the farmstead , a horn in the distance blew musically for noon . It was answered by another and another . But no such summons came from the kitchen door to which his feet now turned . The quiet of the Seventh Day seemed to possess the wide , bright farm-yard .