noon
`` Its note is an exceedingly melancholy whistle , heard at night , when it is very annoying to any sick or nervous person who may be inclined to sleep . I have known many instances where the bird has been perched on a tree in the vicinity of the room of an invalid , uttering its mournful notes , and it was only with the greatest difficulty that it could be dislodged from its position . '' -- Dr. Bennett : Gatherings of a Naturalist in Australasia . I strayed through the forest till noon , in debate with myself , and strove to shape my wild doubts into purpose , before I could nerve and compose myself again to face Margrave alone . I re-entered the but . To my surprise , Margrave was not in the room in which I had left him , nor in that which adjoined it . I ascended the stairs to the kind of loft in which I had been accustomed to pursue my studies , but in which I had not set foot since my alarm for Lilian had suspended my labours .