noon
But Mrs. Cole was firm , and Lucy Haines , who had come to the cottage before sunrise , added her entreaties to the older woman 's insistence . Then everybody discovered that Peggy was very pale , and Dorothy did some more slapping , and Mrs. Cole 's motion was carried . Although every girl of them , and Aunt Abigail as well , had protested her utter inability to sleep , it was not fifteen minutes before absolute quiet reigned in the second story of the cottage . Wheels ground up the driveway again and again , and penetrating , if kindly , voices made inquiries under the open windows , but none of the sleepers waked till noon . Jerry Morton , coming to report the success of his mission , was more than a little disappointed not to secure an immediate interview with Peggy . But Lucy , who was peeling potatoes in anticipation of the time when hunger should act as an alarm clock , in the hushed second story , bade him sit down and wait . `` I know she 'll want to see you .