noon
How about it , girls ? Are you on ? '' It seemed that they were , enthusiastically so , and half an hour later Grace was declaring that she was sorry about poor Nan 's wrist , of course , but if this was n't better than playing a hot game of tennis and probably getting beaten , her name was n't Grace Mason , that 's all . Walter was right about the fish -- they seemed to enjoy being caught , and when , almost at noon time , they came back to the hotel with Walter bringing up the rear with the result of the morning 's sport proudly displayed , strangers followed them with envious eyes and people they knew stopped them to ask where they had found the fish . As for Nan , she tried hard to enter into the old round of gaieties with her usual enthusiasm , for she knew that to show how worried she was would only spoil the fun of her friends . But to herself she acknowledged that she would not really be able to enjoy anything again until the mystery of those dangerous papers in her bag was finally cleared up and she was free from espionage once more . Walter seemed to be the only one who really understood her state of mind and when she pleaded a headache that afternoon and broke an engagement with the girls to go to the cocoanut grove for tea , it was Walter who silenced their protests and took her himself up to her room .