noon
There was something in the offer that did not strike him favorably , and indeed it was a good thing that he was not in a position to accept it . The whole proposition was hardly above a common swindle , enough bogus orders being put among the honest ones either to make the one undertaking the job do a lot of peddling on his own account , or else cause him to pay away half his salary on the goods left over . Walking up Vesey Street , Richard found himself directly opposite the post-office . By the clock on St. Paul 's he saw that it was long after noon . Rather disheartened at his non-success after spending a whole morning in the search for work , he rounded the Astor House corner and crossed Broadway . `` Newspaper Row , '' as Doc Linyard had appropriately called it , was just across the opposite street , and the boy made up his mind to visit the office where the advertisement had been left , and see if there were any letters as yet for the old sailor . The doors of the post-office were open on both sides , and , curious to see how the building looked inside , Richard started to go through instead of going around .