noon
The sound of the `` calliope '' was truly ludicrous . To this was soon added all sorts of noises that only street urchins know how to develop spontaneously . Nor were the young people of Breakwater to be left out of the sport , for numbers of them possessing automobiles , fell into line , after the decorated cars , until the entire little summer place was agog with such excitement as the extreme originality of the visiting colonists usually affords . Street after street was paraded through , auto after auto wheeled along , horns tooting , whistles screeching , boys shouting , girls cheering , until one hour of this strenuous frolic seemed enough to satisfy motor girls and motor boys ; and the party went to the Beacon for luncheon precisely at noon , leaving Tom to finish the honors by stripping the cars of their trappings and making them ready for a homeward trip . Cora , however , was persuaded to leave her machine decorated , as the flowers made a pretty picture , and the return home , after the three-days ' trip , seemed more auspicious when thus heralded . Reluctantly the adieux were made -- Mrs. Bennet had been so hospitable , and the boys such good company . Duncan found an opportunity of making Clip more intimately acquainted with his mother , for she was a woman glad to be the friend of her boy 's friends , and willing to take considerable trouble to show the many little social preferences .