noon
I -- '' `` Kansas ? '' Her eyes lighted with interest . `` My grandmother was from Kansas ! She used to tell me about the green plains of grain in the spring , and how different they were from the deserts of Vesta ... '' It was almost noon when he took her hand and helped her to her feet , realizing guiltily that they had talked all morning without ever getting back to the cold , dry facts of military efficiency . `` It was nice to talk up here this morning , '' she said . She looked down at the cabins and the shadow fell again across her face . `` But nothing down there has been changed by it , has it ? ''