noon
Hence our impatience for the return of Wallace was augmented ; since , if this opportunity were lost , no suitable conveyance might again be offered him . Belding set out , as usual , at the dawn of day . The customary interval between his departure and return was spent by Susan in a tumult of hopes and fears . As noon approached , her suspense arose to a pitch of wildness and agony . She could scarcely be restrained from running along the road , many miles , towards the city ; that she might , by meeting Belding half-way , the sooner ascertain the fate of her lover . She stationed herself at a window which overlooked the road along which Belding was to pass . Her sister and her father , though less impatient , marked , with painful eagerness , the first sound of the approaching vehicle .