noon
And well it was so . For never since the founding of the Dale Trials had such a concourse been gathered together on the North bank of the Silver Lea . From the Highlands they came ; from the far Campbell country ; from the Peak ; from the county of many acres ; from all along the silver fringes of the Solway ; assembling in that quiet corner of the earth to see the famous Gray Dog of Kenmuir fight his last great battle for the Shepherds ' Trophy . By noon the gaunt Scaur looked down on such a gathering as it had never seen . The paddock at the back of the Dalesman 's Daughter was packed with a clammering , chattering multitude : animated groups of farmers ; bevies of solid rustics ; sharp-faced townsmen ; loud-voiced bookmakers ; giggling girls ; amorous boys , -- thrown together like toys in a sawdust bath ; whilst here and there , on the outskirts of the crowd , a lonely man and wise-faced dog , come from afar to wrest his proud title from the best sheep-dog in the North . At the back of the enclosure was drawn up a formidable array of carts and carriages , varying as much in quality and character as did their owners . There was the squire 's landau rubbing axle-boxes with Jem Burton 's modest moke-cart ; and there Viscount Birdsaye 's flaring barouche side by side with the red-wheeled wagon of Kenmuir .