noon
He did not realize until this day how deeply his own feelings were interwoven with the fate of the campaign , and how bleak the night would look to him and Sylvia if Mr. Grayson were beaten -- and he knew that the odds were against him ; despite himself , he , a man of calm mind and strong will , was a prey to nerves . He began to shrink at the thought of the count of the votes , and to fear the first real bulletins . He walked about the streets awhile to steady himself , and then looked at his watch . It was past noon there , but later in the East and earlier in the West ; yet the bulk of the ballots were cast already . In three or four hours more the tabulated vote in the states farthest east would begin to arrive , and they would listen to the opening chapter of the story , a story which he feared to hear . Absorbed in his thoughts , he had strolled unconsciously towards the country . There , at a turn of the road , he met two people in a light wagon , and they were the candidate and his wife Mrs. Grayson driving .