noon before
`` It 's no use stopping here , '' remarked Rob , regretfully , `` for I 've spoiled my welcome by this accident . I think these people are Irish , by their looks and speech , so I must be somewhere in the Emerald Isle . '' He consulted his map and decided upon the general direction he should take to reach England , after which he again rose into the air and before long was passing over the channel towards the shores of England . Either his map or compass or his calculations proved wrong , for it was high noon before , having changed his direction a half dozen times , he came to the great city of London . He saw at a glance that it would never do to drop into the crowded streets , unless he wanted to become an object of public curiosity ; so he looked around for a suitable place to alight . Near by was a monstrous church that sent a sharp steeple far into the air . Rob examined this spire and saw a narrow opening in the masonry that led to a small room where a chime of bells hung .