noon
`` Yes , dear , even if they were horrid . I knew I had done my part and could forget all about the trouble ; but if I had n't told them I was sorry , then I was unhappy all the time . '' Tabitha looked thoughtfully out of the window far across the desert to the mountains beyond , and finally answered slowly , `` Well , that 's worth trying , though being a Catt seems to make everything different for me . Maybe -- '' The noon whistle blew , and the child leaped to her feet with a startled exclamation . `` I must be going now . Aunt Maria was n't at home when we took the melon down , and no one knows where I 've gone . Good-by ! ''