noon
At last Athos spoke : -- `` Swear , my children , that , next to yourselves , you will respect the King of France ; and remember that ` Forty years after ' we will meet again . '' THE DWELLER OF THE THRESHOLD . BY SIR ED -- D L -- TT -- N B -- LW -- R. It was noon . Sir Edward had stepped from his brougham and was proceeding on foot down the Strand . He was dressed with his usual faultless taste , but in alighting from his vehicle his foot had slipped , and a small round disk of conglomerated soil , which instantly appeared on his high arched instep , marred the harmonious glitter of his boots . Sir Edward was fastidious .