noon
`` A few more steps , and we shall see our friends , '' said I ; and we advanced until , from the summit of the pass , we saw the valley wherein they have found rest . They had worked well during autumn and winter , and the land was well cultivated ; the brook ran through the midst of the vale , which was bounded by low hills on either side , and clear from forest growth . In the centre of the valley the brook divided , forming an island of about an acre of ground , containing several dwellings . From the central one , which possessed a chimney , smoke issued , and told of the noon meat . By this time our approach was discovered , and I saw my brother , with a few serfs , advancing to meet us . It was a happy moment when we embraced each other again . And then he saw Alfgar , and embraced him as a son .