noon
How there was recognition and greeting even in the squirrel that scampered past him , mischievously whisking his ridiculous tail within an inch of his outstretched fingers . And how Aristides , at last flinging away hat , shoes , and satchel , uttered a shrill whoop and dashed forward like a youthful savage . But are not these things written in the dog 's - eared pages of every boy 's memory , even though they seemed afterward to the just Aristides a part and parcel of his own strange vision ? Yet even such delights had their hour of culmination , and Aristides found himself at high noon back on the road again in a state of feverish excitement , carrying a ravished jay 's nest , two pine cones , a dead hare , and a plume of the white syringa . Somewhat overpowered by the weight of these trophies , which he had collected in the vague belief that they would be of future service to him , he began to look about for some convenient place to bestow his booty . It was nearly time for the great Wingdam stage to go by , and when it came at last with a sharp rattle of wheels and prancing of horses , and a red pillar of dust hanging over it that partook of both the fiery and cloudy attributes of the Israelitish sign , Aristides exchanged epithets with the driver , and , although standing knee-deep in red dust , felt a thrill of joy in the recognition which no future honor or dignity might ever give him . Retracing his steps , the truant presently came to a semicircular opening in the side of Red Mountain , which inclosed , like the walls of some vast amphitheatre , what had been the arena of the early struggles of the gladiators of fortune .