noon
And presently the rains ceased and the sun came out . It seemed as if good fortune had adopted us , and we fared along gaily enough . '' Yes , the two no doubt were in great spirits and much laughter , still thinking it a mere escapade . `` Toward noon we reached a considerable village with a good inn and posting house , and going boldly to the inn , I demanded horses . The people seemed to be touched by our youth ; they thought -- '' here a flush showed under Gaston 's tan and sunburn -- `` they thought we were a couple running away to be married , and their sympathy for us was not diminished by the liberal way in which I paid for all I wanted . Here Francezka rested for an hour or two , and I worked out my plan for reaching Uzmaiz with her , as that was our only refuge . I told her all the risks we ran , and offered to follow any other plan which seemed good to her .