noon
`` If I ca n't save her I can at least die with her . But those two devils shall pay for it first ! '' `` Follow me , '' said the Baron , giving him the sword and , followed by Mirliflor , he ran at a very creditable speed for his years in the direction of the Palace . * * * * * A little before noon that morning the Royal Family had collected on one of the terraces . King Sidney was pacing up and down engaged in private and apparently important conversation with the Crown Prince . The Court as usual kept a respectful distance and chattered and gossiped in whispers . The Princess Royal and Princess Ruby were sitting at a jade table playing the game that resembled Halma , while the Queen was confiding her maternal anxieties to the Court Chamberlain 's sympathetic ear .