about noon
I will not have any more of the Harshaws offering themselves as substitutes . It will be very strange if I can not exist without them somehow . '' It struck me that the poor child 's boast was a little premature , as she seemed to be making rather free use of one of the substitutes still , as a shield against the others ; but it was of a piece with the rest of the comedy . I kept her in bed till she had had a cup of tea ; afterward she slept a little , and about noon she dressed herself and gave Cecil his audience . But first , at her request , I had possessed him with the main facts and given him an inkling of what was expected of him . His face changed ; he looked as he did after his steeplechase the day I saw him first , -- except that he was cleaner , -- grave , excited , and resolved . He had taken the bit in his teeth .