noon
In the morning , he might be seen at the railroad station , a grotesque and patient form , holding out his papers silently in the direction of the shuffling feet that passed by . He never cried his wares , but his appeal was more compelling than the noisy shouts of his more fortunate competitors . He had become an institution in Warwick . Every one knew where to find him at certain hours : in the morning , at the station ; toward noon , taking his way , unassisted except by his cane , toward the City Hall , carrying the first edition of a great metropolitan daily of the flaming variety ; in the evening , at the station once more . He had made these two posts of vantage his own , as unfortunates in the Old World take possession of sunny corners beside cathedral doors , and no one ventured to trespass within his sphere . Each noon Emmet had been accustomed to buy a paper , paying a nickel or a dime as it came to his hand , but seldom the penny that was the price of the sheet . To-day he followed his custom mechanically and hurried on , eager to plunge into the distraction of work as a refuge from the tormenting devil within him .