noon
Then he felt a wave of dizziness , and , his muscles relaxing , he pitched forward into the long grass . Good nursing , proper food , and a brief rest were enough to pull together Porter 's yielding nerves . There was some delay at first in getting a physician , and Katherine was obliged to wait for the greater part of an hour before the slowly driven carriage brought her father home . Considerable time passed before his improvement justified her in leaving the house , and then it was so near noon that she decided to wait until after lunch . Once on the road behind Ned and Nick , and beside the erect groom , Katherine realized the delicacy of the situation . Up to this moment she had been acting frankly upon impulse . It was so clear to her mind that McNally had been instrumental in the kidnapping of Harvey , and the sudden emotion aroused by the whole affair had so overwhelmed her , that for the time her only thought had been to get to Harvey , to be near him and of some service to him .