noon
`` I regret to add to your sorrow , '' said Thorwald , `` but we should learn of it here as quickly as at home , for I am in constant communication with my friends who are conducting the search . Still , we have been staying here for you and can now bring our visit to a close at any time . '' So after lunch we bade adieu to Proctor and his household , and started for home , the same way we went out -- that is , by going west again . As we made a leisurely journey and enjoyed a good night 's rest on the way , it was just before noon when we arrived at Thorwald 's house . Here we found Antonia , who had been advised of our coming by telephone , and had prepared a nice lunch for us . Just as we were all about to sit down to enjoy it , a young man entered unannounced and , without formal invitation , joined us in gathering about the board . This was not an instance of undue familiarity , as we soon discovered , but illustrated again the free and hearty hospitality of these generous people .