noon
To plead that he remained because he was too weak to move was only to throw themselves back on the other horn of their dilemma . If he was too weak to move Addie would bring him her strength -- of which , when she got there , she would give them specimens enough . One morning he broke out at breakfast with an intimate conviction . They 'd see that she was actually starting -- they 'd receive a wire by noon . They did n't receive it , but by his theory the portent was only the stronger . It had moreover its grave as well as its gay side , since Granger 's paradox and pleasantry were only the method most open to him of conveying what he felt . He literally heard the knell sound , and in expressing this to Miss Wenham with the conversational freedom that seemed best to pay his way he the more vividly faced the contingency .