noon
`` How fortunate ! '' exclaimed the maiden , fitting an arrow to her bow . It was not fortunate for the pheasant , evidently , whatever Branwen may have meant , for next moment the bird fell dead -- transfixed with an arrow . Being high noon by that time , the demands of nature made our huntress think of a mid-day meal . And now it was that she became aware of another omission -- the result , partly , of inexperience . Having plucked and cleaned the bird , she prepared to roast it , when a sudden indescribable gaze overspread her pretty face . For a moment she stood as if petrified .