one o'clock
In the _ salle à manger _ were Sir Ralph and Mr. Barrymore , who had brought the motor from the machine shop . He looked as well tubbed and groomed as if he had had two hours for his toilet , instead of twenty minutes ; and we laughed a great deal as we told our night adventures , feeling as if we 'd been friends for months , if not years . It was much nicer without the Prince , I thought , though Mamma kept glancing at the door , and showed her disappointment on learning that he had stolen off to sleep at Alessandria . Joseph , it seemed , had telegraphed him this morning about the water-wheel , and the news that his automobile could n't be ready till twelve or one o'clock . As we thankfully turned our backs on Cuneo we realized why it had been given a name signifying `` wedge , '' because of the two river torrents , the Stura and Gesso , that whittle the town to a point , one on either side . For a while we ran smoothly along a road on a high embankment , which reminded Sir Ralph and the Chauffeulier of the Loire ; less beautiful though , they thought , despite the great wedding-ring of white mountains that girdled the country round . By and by the mountains dwindled to hills , purple and blue in the distance , misty spring-green in the foreground ; in place of the dandelions of yesterday we had a carpet of buttercups woven in gold on either side of the road .