noon
Still , you 're tough ; and I guess the first hard day 's ride will be enough for your partner . '' Five minutes later Blake was picking his way as fast as possible through the woods . It was a cool morning , and when he had gone a few miles the ground was fairly dear . By noon he was in more open country , where there were long stretches of grass , and after a short rest he pushed on fast . Bright sunshine flooded the waste that now stretched back to the south , sprinkled with clumps of bush that showed a shadowy blue in the distance . Near at hand , the birch and poplar leaves glowed in flecks of vivid lemon among the white stems ; but Blake rode hard , his eyes turned steadily on the misty skyline . It was broken only by clusters of small trees ; nothing moved on the wilderness of grass and sand ahead of him .