noon
Then the four boys went down the hill , and at the main road they separated , promising to meet at the appointed time and place to-morrow . Early in the morning of this same day , Emma had begun in her busy brain a new set of schemes . On the trip the day before , she had seen something which had excited her inventive powers in the highest degree . At the table at noon a keen observer would have suspected that something was in the wind , from the unseemly haste with which the little girl devoured her food . She was too busy with her project to remember her manners ! When they arose from the table , and Mrs. Stanhope , with her never-forgotten politeness , dismissed them with `` many wishes for an agreeable afternoon , '' Emma slipped lightly down the stairs , like a little weasel , and into the kitchen . The fat cook looked up with surprise from her cup of coffee ; she could not get along without her coffee at noon , whatever happened .