noon
`` Do n't thank me . You have a hard job ahead of you if I take you . It 's no child 's play . You 'd better come with me first and look over the place , '' and he led the way out into the great central room where , because it was still noon time , there were few people working , but where one could see just how imposing this business really was . `` Seventy-two stenographers , book-keepers , canvassers and writers and trade-aid people at their desks , '' he observed with an easy wave of his hand , and moved on into the art department , which was in another wing of the building where a north and east light could be secured . `` Here 's where you come in , '' he observed , throwing open the door where thirty-two artists ' desks and easels were ranged . Eugene was astonished .