noon
It seems to pay , after all ! '' The welcome strains , however , were but the prelude to a harsher sound which interrupted and annihilated them : the Court-house bell clanging out twelve . `` All right , '' said Joe . `` It 's noon and I 'm ` across Main Street bridge . ' '' He opened his eyes and looked about him whimsically . Then he shook his head again . A lady had just emerged from the bridge and was coming toward him .