noon
And after the allotted half hour had struck , she sat up , smiling at Ailsa , and , slipping to the floor , dressed rapidly , talking all the while in her pretty , gentle way about bandages and bones and fractures and dislocations . A few minutes after she had completed dressing and was standing before the glass , smoothing the dark , silky masses of her hair , Dr. Benton arrived , absent-eyed , preoccupied at first , then in a fidgety humour which indicated something was about to happen . It happened . `` Could any lady get ready in time to take the noon train for Washington ? '' he asked abruptly . There was a startled silence ; the call had come at last . Mrs. Rutherford said quietly : `` I will go .