noon
`` Yes , I do , I do , indeed ! Ah -- ah -- why do n't you ? '' `` Mercy me , I could n't think of it ! I must stay here and get to cookin ' or we 'll have no puddin ' to-morrow noon . I 'll be with you in spirit , as the books say ; how will that do ? '' Whether or not she was with him in spirit , she was very much in her lodger 's thoughts as he walked down the path to the gate . It was such a beautiful forenoon , with the first promise of spring in the air , that , instead of starting toward the village , as was his usual custom , he turned in the other direction and strolled toward the lighthouse .