noon
He has grit and chivalry enough to pull through somehow . And maybe before many weeks the mystery will be cleared for better or worse . We can only hope for the best and hold on tight to Larry , and Ruth too , till they are out of the woods . '' Philip Lambert was rather taken by surprise when Harrison Cressy appeared at the store one day late in August , announcing that he had come to talk business and practically commanding the young man to lunch with him that noon . It was Saturday and Phil had little time for idle conjecture , but he did wonder every now and then that morning what business Carlotta 's father could possibly have with himself , and if by any chance Carlotta had sent him . Later , seated in the dining-room of the Eagle Hotel , Dunbury 's one hostelry , it seemed to Phil that his host was distinctly nervous , with considerably less than his usual brusque , dogmatic poise of manner . Having left soup the waiter shuffled away with the congenital air of discouragement which belongs to his class , and Harrison Cressy got down to business in regard both to the soup and his mission in Dunbury .