noon
The stout innkeeper and his stout wife favored him with the food , and hearing that he had come from Metz they wanted to know all the gossip , which he told them as far as he knew . He had noted the broad track of the great limousine in the road before he entered the inn , and thinking it must have stopped there for a little while , he spoke casually of those who passed . `` Aye , '' said the innkeeper , `` many go by , many of whom will never come back . They go mostly toward Metz , but a great prince traveling in the other direction came today , before noon , and we served him refreshment . '' `` Perhaps it was the Prince of Auersperg , '' said John . `` He was in Metz when I was there , and I saw him leave . '' `` They did not tell me his name , but that must have been the man . ''