noon
Soon , however , the road became steeper , and Betty slacked up . The sun was high , now , and unpleasantly warm . So the wise old mule merely humped her back as Dallas applied the lash , and doggedly refused to increase her speed . It was noon when the wagon approached the summit . It did not rest there a moment . Behind was spread out a wonderful landscape . The Missouri threaded it quarteringly , the western bluffs walled its farther edge to the sky .