noon
Forsyth 's face was bright and eager with the anticipation of coming danger . Lieutenant Beecher was serious and silent , while the guide , Sharp Grover , was alert and cool . A tenseness had made itself felt throughout the command . I learned early not to ask questions ; but as we came one noon upon a broad path leading up to the main trail where from this union we looked out on a wide , well-beaten way , I turned an inquiring face toward Morton , who rode beside me . There was strength in the answer his eyes gave mine . He had what the latter-day students of psychology call `` poise , '' a grip on himself . It is by such men that the Plains have been won from a desert demesne to fruitful fields .