noon
He slipped the rude halter from Old Jack , patted him on the head and said : `` Old Jack , after the lofty way in which you have behaved I would n't disgrace you by tying you up for the night . Moreover , I know that you 're the best guard I could possibly have , and so , trusting you implicitly , I shall go to sleep . '' His confidence was justified , and the next morning they were away again over the prairie . Ned was sure that he would meet roving Texans or Mexicans before noon , but he saw neither . He surmised that the news of Santa Anna 's great force had sent all the Texans eastward , but the loneliness and desolation nevertheless weighed upon him . He crossed several streams , all of them swollen and deep from spring rains , and every time he came to one he returned thanks again because he had found Old Jack . The great horse always took the flood without hesitation , and would come promptly to the other bank .