noon
And Ruth ! How should he save her -- save her from herself , clear the mist from her eyes , arouse her drowsing soul ? All that he had aimed at and all that he had striven for hung on finding answers to those questions . By noon Bryant and Carrigan had concluded their interviews with members of the Land and Water Board . All of them had listened , asked questions , expressed their regret at the situation in which Perro Creek project found itself , but stated that the Board had no course other than that of executing the law evoked in the case . They suggested that Bryant bring an action in the courts to test the law ; they admitted that his company might be forced into the hands of a receiver ; they inquired concerning the possibility of gaining the consent of the adverse party to a withdrawal of his application . Their hands , however , said one and all , were tied in the matter .