noon
The provost 's adieus , like Macbeth 's amen , had stuck in his throat , and seemed to intimate that he apprehended more than he dared give utterance to . Laying all these matters together , Alan thought , with no little anxiety on the celebrated lines of Shakespeare , -- A drop , That in the ocean seeks another drop , & c . But pertinacity was a strong feature in the young lawyer 's character . He was , and always had been , totally unlike the ` horse hot at hand , ' who tires before noon through his own over eager exertions in the beginning of the day . On the contrary , his first efforts seemed frequently inadequate to accomplishing his purpose , whatever that for the time might be ; and it was only as the difficulties of the task increased , that his mind seemed to acquire the energy necessary to combat and subdue them . If , therefore , he went anxiously forward upon his uncertain and perilous expedition , the reader must acquit him of all idea , even in a passing thought , of the possibility of abandoning his search , and resigning Darsie Latimer to his destiny . A couple of hours ' riding brought him to the little town of Annan , situated on the shores of the Solway , between eight and nine o'clock .