noon
All sound of life , melody , or merriment had died out at Camp Sandy . Even the hounds seemed to feel that a cloud of disaster hung over the garrison . Only at rare intervals some feminine shape flitted along the line of deserted verandas -- some woman on a mission of mercy to some mourning , sore-troubled sister among the scattered households . For several hours before high noon the wires from Prescott had been hot with demand for news , and with messages from Byrne or Plume to department headquarters . At meridian , however , there came a lull , and at 2 P. M. a break . Somewhere to the west the line was snapped and down . At 2.15 two linesmen galloped forth to find and repair damages , half a dozen `` doughboys '' on a buckboard going as guard .