noon
We must set a good example . If the principal people run away , what may be expected of others ? '' My mother 's entreaties were of no avail , so Uncle Richard , finding that all was ready , gave the word to move on . We proceeded as fast as the mules could travel , and by noon arrived at Uncle Richard 's hacienda , where Aunt Maria and Rosa gave my mother a warm reception . `` We shall here , I trust , be safe from the Spaniards ; but if we hear of their coming , we must take to the mountains , where even they will be unable to find us , '' said Dona Maria . `` But what will become of the house and estate ? '' asked my mother .