noon
Then she urged the horse . It was a long drive to the settlement where she had kept the hotel , and she had not been there for some time . The goods she and her neighbors bought came from the new settlement on the railroad , which was not far off ; but she had an object in visiting the other . It was noon when she reached the hotel and sat down to dinner in the familiar room . She did not know if she was pleased or disappointed to find the meal served as well as before , but her thoughts were not cheerful while she ate . She remembered her ambitions and her resolve to leave the dreary plains and make her mark in Toronto or Montreal . Now her dreams had vanished and she must grapple with dull realities that jarred her worse than they had done .