About noon
There was a little spring welling up in a hollow not fifty yards away from the hut , which itself stood in a deep , natural rift among the high hills , so that men might search for it a lifetime and not come across it . Robin 's daily round was very simple . He had leave to make a fire by day , but he must extinguish it at night lest its glow should be seen , so he began his morning by mixing a little oatmeal , and then preparing his dinner . About noon , so near as he could judge by the sun , he dined ; sometimes off a partridge or rabbit ; on Fridays off half a dozen tiny trout ; and set aside part of the cold food for supper ; he had one good loaf of nearly black bread every day , and the single jug of small beer . The greater part of the day he spent within the hut , for safety 's sake , sleeping a little , and thinking a good deal . He had no books with him ; even his breviary had been forbidden , since David , as a shrewd man , had made conditions , first that he should not have to speak with any refugee , second , that if the man were a priest he should have nothing about him that could prove him to be so . Mr. Maine 's beads , only , had been permitted , on condition that they were hidden always beneath a stone outside the hut .