noon
No , let the cutworm work his will , and let the brown-tailed moth corrupt ; I must take refuge in flight , however inglorious . It was then that the good angel , who never forsakes a well-meaning man , whispered to me that far back in a quiet corner of New England was the little village where I had passed my boyhood , which I had deserted for five and twenty years , but which still remembered me as `` Johnny '' Stanhope , thanks to the officious longevity of the editor of the county paper . The situation I explained briefly to Prudence and Malachy , and swore them into the conspiracy . I threw a few clothes into a small trunk , despatched a hypocritical note of regret to Miss Rogers , caught the noon train , and was soon beyond the danger line . Mrs. Lot , casting an apprehensive glance behind her , could not have dreaded more fearful consequences than I , looking back on the calamity I was evading . But as we went on and on into the cool , quiet country , and felt the soft air stealing down from the nearing mountains , I began to experience a lively sense of relief and pleasure , and to wonder why I had so long delayed a visit to my boyhood home . I am sorry for the man whose childhood knew only the roar and bustle and swiftly shifting scenes of the city .