noon
The great dark cypress had disappeared , and pines were more abundant . The forests were lighter and more open . There was a freshet in the Sabine ; but they swam across it , as they had done other rivers , and halted to encamp upon its western bank . It was still only a little after noon , but as they had wet their baggage in crossing , they resolved to remain by the river for the rest of the day . They made their camp in an open space in the midst of a grove of low trees . There were many open spaces , for the trees stood wide apart , and the grove looked very much like a deserted orchard . Here and there a tall magnolia raised its cone-shaped summit high above the rest , and a huge trunk of one of these , without leaves or branches , appeared at some distance , standing like an old ruined tower .