noon
`` Now , Lady Gerda , '' said Bertric , `` we are under way once more , and the question is , Whither ? How far are we from the Norway coast ? '' `` I can not tell , '' she answered . `` It was a little before noon , however , when the ship was set afloat , as I have told you . '' `` We overhauled her at sunset , '' he said thoughtfully . `` At that time she was not doing more than four knots . Maybe we are fifty miles from shore , for she may have done better than that , though I doubt it , seeing how wildly she sailed .