noon
Then she hurried off to her son , and Betty was left to her own devices . She despatched a special-delivery letter to Helen , explaining why she could not take the sleeper -- Helen had the impression that Betty had gone to New York to have her hair waved and was ashamed to confess to such frivolity . Then she yawned for a while over `` The Canterbury Tales , '' and went to bed early , so as to be in perfect trim for the next day 's interview . She intended to see Mr. Blake as early as possible in the morning and take a noon train for Harding . `` And I do hope there is n't going to be a blizzard here , '' she thought , as she fell asleep to the angry howling of the wind , which dashed the snow , now frozen , into tiny , icy globules , against her window panes . But her hope was not destined to be realized . When she woke later than usual the next morning , with a queer feeling of not knowing where she was nor what had happened , the storm was still raging furiously .