noon
Finally all her hope centered on Judge Price . He would expect Hannibal during the morning , perhaps when the boy did not arrive he would be tempted to go out to Belle Plain to discover the reason of his nonappearance . She wondered what theories would offer themselves to his ingenious mind , for she sensed something of that indomitable energy which in the face of rebuffs and laughter carried him into the thick of every sensation . At noon , Mrs. Hicks , as sullen as in the morning , brought them their dinner . She had scarcely quitted the loft when a shrill whistle pierced the silence that hung above the clearing . It was twice repeated , and the two women were heard to go from the cabin . Perhaps half an hour elapsed , then a step became audible on the packed earth of the dooryard ; some one entered the room below and began to ascend the narrow stairs , and Betty 's fingers closed convulsively about Hannibal 's .