noon
`` Not now , '' he begged . `` It 's early yet . '' But she insisted ... The next day at the noon hour Janet entered Dey Street . Cheek by jowl there with the tall tenements whose spindled-pillared porches overhung the darkened pavements were smaller houses of all ages and descriptions , their lower floors altered to accommodate shops ; while in the very midst of the block stood a queer wooden building with two rows of dormer windows let into its high-pitched roof . It bore a curious resemblance to a town hall in the low countries . In front of it the street was filled with children gazing up at the doorway where a man stood surveying them -- the stranger from Silliston .