noon
But it had been impossible even for grief to submerge the sweet youth in her . There were lights in her soft , wavy hair , and the line of her exquisite throat would have delighted a sculptor . The slim figure was exquisitely poised , though just now it suggested weariness . When the stage stopped at noon for dinner the salesman made it a point to sit beside her at the long table . His persistent attentions to the girl made the delicate color of her cheek deepen . She was too shy , too unused to the world , to know how to suppress his audacities effectively . But it was plain to one young man sitting at the opposite end of the table that the familiarities of the man were unwelcome .