noon
At intervals she tried to turn on the water , hoping for a few drops at least ; at intervals she sat down to wait for him ; then , the inaction becoming unendurable , musing goaded her into motion , and she ascended to the floor above , groping through the dimness in futile search for Clarence . She heard him somewhere in obscurity , scurrying under furniture at her approach , evidently too thoroughly demoralized to recognize her voice . So , after a while , she gave it up and wandered down to the pantry , instinct leading her , for she was hungry and thirsty ; but she knew there could be nothing eatable in a house closed for the summer . She lifted the pantry window and opened the blinds ; noon sunshine flooded the place , and she began opening cupboards and refrigerators , growing hungrier every moment . Then her eyes fell upon dozens of bottles of Apollinaris , and with a little cry of delight she knelt down , gathered up all she could carry , and ran upstairs to the bathroom adjoining her own bedchamber . `` At least , '' she said to herself , `` I can cleanse myself of this dreadful coal ! '' and in a few moments she was reveling , elbow deep , in a marble basin brimming with Apollinaris .