noon before
The party started off from Hampton in high fettle and with a childlike trust in the honesty of a garage attendant . There were banks of clouds shrouding the horizon both to the west and north -- the two directions from which thunder showers usually rise in this part of New England in which they were traveling . And yet the shower held off . It was some time past noon before the thunder began to mutter again . The automobile party was then in the hilly country . Heretofore farms had been plentiful , although hamlets were few and far between . `` If it rains , '' said Ruth cheerfully , `` of course we can take refuge in some farmhouse . ''