noon
But he found none that might not , by awakening James 's suspicions , make matters worse ; indeed , it seemed to him that James was already suspicious . He had at last to let things take their course , in the hope that when the time came they would shape themselves favourably . They did . For before noon he gathered that James wanted to go fishing . The O'Beirnes also wanted to go fishing , and for the general convenience it became him to go with them . He said neither No nor Yes ; but he dallied with the idea until it was time to start and they had made up their minds that he was coming . Then he declined .