noon
God bless him ! And -- _ that twenty-five thousand dollars is going just the way he meant it to go _ . '' The next day Jerome went again to Lawyer Means 's . It was near noon when he returned ; he met many people on the road , and they all looked at him strangely . Men stood in knots , and the hum of their conversation died low when he drew near . They nodded to him with curious respect and formality ; after he had passed , the rumble of voices began anew . One woman , whom he met just before he turned the corner of his own road , stopped and held out a slender , trembling hand .