noon
`` Bless ye for your confidence , my bonny lassie ! '' said Johnny Faa ; `` and before the sun gae down , Sir Patrick Hume shall ken that there is ane that likes him pining in a captive 's prison , wi ' nane but ane that his brother likes to bear her company . '' The gipsy king was mounted on an active pony , and although it was without a saddle , and reined only by a hempen bridle , he dashed off with it , at the pace of a fleet racer , and directed his course toward the Lammermuirs . It was not noon when he arrived at the Castle Wedderburn . The porter at the gate retreated in terror , as he beheld him , for the name of the Faa king had become terrible on the Borders , and even the king had been glad to grant him terms on his own choosing . On being admitted to the presence of the knight -- `` What is it , ye vagrant loon , '' asked Sir Patrick , `` that brings ye to venture within the roof o ' honest men ? '' `` Honest ! ''