noon
And there was that last paragraph , too , which hailed Denny -- `` The Pilgrim , '' they called him in the paper , but that could n't deceive Old Jerry -- as the newcomer for whom the public had been waiting so long , and , toward the end , so hopelessly . It was really a perfect thing of its kind -- but Old Jerry could not enjoy it that morning , even though it was Denny Bolton 's first triumph , to be shared by him alone in equal proportion . Instead of sending creepy thrills chasing up and down his spine it merely intensified his doleful bitterness of spirit . Long before noon he breathed a leaden heavy sigh , refolded the sodden sheet and put it away in the box beneath the seat . The old mare took her own pace that day . In a brain that was already burdened until it fairly ached there was no room for the image of the silver-haired stone-cutter which had made for speed on other occasions . He had plenty to occupy his mind which was of a strictly immediate nature .