noon
If they were not friends , he argued with them until they were , for he was an honest little man , in his way , and tried to act in good faith . So the girl went from one shop to another , making liberal purchases and seeking for every opening that would enable her to make a convert . And her shrewd Irish wit made her quick to take advantage of any weakness she discovered in the characters of the people she interviewed . When noon came Uncle John hunted her up , which was not difficult , in Elmwood , and together they went to the village `` hotel '' to get something to eat . The mid-day dinner was not very inviting , but Patsy praised the cooking to the landlord 's wife , who waited upon the table , and Uncle John bought one of the landlord 's cigars after the meal and talked politics with him while he smoked it . Then Patsy went over to the general store , and there she met her first rebuff . Thompson , the proprietor , was a sour-visaged man , tall and lanky and evidently a dyspeptic .