noon
They had barely sailed when the first heavy snowfall of the season covered the world with a blanket of white , and this was the forerunner of almost continuous genuine winter weather . No severe storms such as Ellen had prophesied assailed the region until the first of February , but then came such a one as deserved no other name than the modern term of blizzard , a happening of which Madam Ruston and Charlotte had heard , but had never genuinely experienced . `` We 're going to show you the real article this time , '' declared James Macauley , stamping his way in out of the snow one evening , when the storm had been in progress for twenty-four hours without intermission . `` I came over to assure you that if in the morning your roof has disappeared under a drift you may rest easy in the knowledge that you will surely be shovelled out before noon . My wife sent me over to find out if you had plenty of supplies on hand . '' `` We were n't provided for quite so long a siege , but I was coming over to telephone from your house this morning . It 's a great storm , is n't it ?