noon
He remade the pack , mounted and pushed on through the snows , which grew deeper as the elevation increased . On either hand , the two ranges flung mountain beyond mountain , in shades of jade , creviced by deep blue snow . The tiny , weary cavalcade wound on and on with not a trace of Judith to lighten the way . It was noon when Douglas reached the forest which choked the end of Mormon Valley . He knew the spot . Nature first had covered the floor of the passage with boulders . Between the boulders , she had planted the pine-trees .