noon
She plied them with questions , to which she received vague replies , and finally contented herself with the thought that these were perhaps wayward children who had run away from home and were now penitently trying to find their way back . After the boys were rested , they thanked their kind hostess and set out again upon their wanderings with no other compass than blind chance , but avoiding the highways for fear of being captured by the soldiers . On they went for hours , Mendel supporting his complaining brother and whispering words of hope and courage . By noon the sky had become darker , the storm more threatening . The wind blew in furious gusts over the dismal country , and an occasional rumbling of distant thunder filled the weary lads with dread . The road they had chosen was absolutely deserted . It lay through a bleak , scarcely habitable prairie , a landscape common enough in that part of Russia ; and stones and brambles did much to retard their progress .