noon
Colonel McVeigh was engaged with his mother and Judge Clarkson on some affairs of the plantation , so very much had to be crowded into his few hours at home . Money had to be raised , property had to be sold , and the salable properties were growing so few in those days . Masterson was waiting impatiently for the Colonel , whom he had only seen for the most brief exchange of words that morning . It was now noon . He had important news to communicate before that guard arrived for Monroe ; it might entail surprising disclosures , and the minutes seemed like hours to him , while Judge Clarkson leisurely presented one paper after another for Kenneth 's perusal and signature , and Mrs. McVeigh listened and asked advice . Judithe descended the stairs , radiant in a gown of fluffy yellow stuff , with girdle of old topaz and a fillet of the same in quaint dull settings . The storm had grown terrific -- the heavy clouds trailing to the earth and the lightning flashes lit up dusky corners .