noon
It fell on the hearthstone and sputtered . `` The roads , '' he announced , are not very bad beyond the bridge . That is the worst spot , and I have sent down a gang to clear it . Our guests ought to be able to depart before noon , though I wo n't answer for the road Yeovil Way . One carrier -- Allworthy -- has come through to the bridge , but says he passed Solomon 's van in a drift about four miles back , this side of the Cheriton oak . He reports Bayfield Hill safe enough ; but that I discovered for myself . '' `` It seems quite a treat for them , '' Dorothea remarked .