noon
Pardon me , you know I am your friend . '' `` Not from the moment you breathe a word against my betrothed wife , '' said I , fiercely . I wrenched myself from the clasp of the man 's hand , but his words still rang in my ears . I mounted my horse ; I rode into the adjoining suburbs , the neighbouring villages ; there , however , I learned nothing , till , just at nightfall , in a hamlet about ten miles from L -- , a labourer declared he had seen a young lady dressed as I described , who passed by him in a path through the fields a little before noon ; that he was surprised to see one so young , so well dressed , and a stranger to the neighbourhood -LRB- for he knew by sight the ladies of the few families scattered around -RRB- walking alone ; that as he stepped out of the path to make way for her , he looked hard into her face , and she did not heed him , -- seemed to gaze right before her , into space . If her expression had been less quiet and gentle , he should have thought , he could scarcely say why , that she was not quite right in her mind ; there was a strange unconscious stare in her eyes , as if she were walking in her sleep . Her pace was very steady , -- neither quick nor slow . He had watched her till she passed out of sight , amidst a wood through which the path wound its way to a village at some distance .