noon
Why , this gave me , at least , her place in society ! The question of age , to be sure , remained unsettled ; but all else was safe . The next day I took a late and large breakfast and sacrificed my dinner . Before noon the guests had all straggled back to the hotel from glen and grove and lane , so bright and hot was the sunshine . Indeed , I could hardly have supported the reverberation of heat from the sides of the ravine , but for a fixed belief that I should be successful . While crossing the narrow meadow upon which it opened , I caught a glimpse of something white among the thickets higher up . A moment later , it had vanished , and I quickened my pace , feeling the beginning of an absurd nervous excitement in my limbs .