noon
If he steals anything , I 'll hold you responsible and ship him out on the next cement boat , whether he wants to go or not . '' Next morning Dick sent word to Payne , who arrived at the dam soon afterwards and did his work satisfactorily . On the evening of the first pay-day he went to Santa Brigida , but Dick , who watched him in the morning , noted somewhat to his surprise , that he showed no signs of dissipation . When work stopped at noon he heard a few pistol shots , but was told on inquiring that it was only one or two of the men shooting at a mark . A few days afterwards he found it necessary to visit Santa Brigida . Since Bethune confined his talents to constructional problems and languidly protested that he had no aptitude for commerce , much of the company 's minor business gradually fell into Dick 's hands . As a rule , he went to the town in the evening , after he had finished at the dam .