noon
He spent the rest of the night pacing the floor fighting to a finish the battle between the memory of Ruth and his children and his fierce new passion . Just before dawn he lay down and fell asleep , dreaming of Kate . The battle between the flesh and the spirit had ended . He slept until noon , ate a hasty breakfast , called at the Ransom house a moment , and hurried to his home . His wife had read the morning papers with increasing amazement at the sensation created , and a sense of impending tragedy began to crush her . For hours she had been walking back and forth from her window watching for his approach , until now she dreaded to see him . At the sound of his footstep she recalled the fact that she was the judge and he the culprit in the scene to be enacted .