noon
Corrie nodded , fully occupied . His blood sang through his veins , his fingers gripped the steering-wheel lovingly ; he was revelling in the speed exhilaration he had never expected to feel again . The driver who hoped for no such commutation of sentence watched him with quietly sad eyes ; eyes in which no one ever was allowed to surprise their present expression , least of all Corrie Rose . Near noon a tire blew out . Gerard sat on the side of the Mercury and gave bits of ironical advice to the worker while Corrie changed a tire alone for the first time in his life . Corrie bore the teasing sweetly , even when a tool slipped and tore his cold-sensitized fingers . `` I know , '' he deprecated .