noon
He felt quite confident within himself that John Royce Pederstone would be elected , for the candidate had received a splendid reception at all his meetings throughout the Valley , with the solitary exception of the hometown of his opponent . Furthermore , rumour had it that Pederstone 's party was sweeping the country , so , if there was anything at all in indications , Royce Pederstone 's election was a foregone conclusion . Phil had noticed that the nearer the election day had drawn , the more serious , nervous and unsettled Sol had seemed to grow , as if he dreaded the possibility of his old master 's defeat and was taking it to himself as a personal matter . At noon time , Phil went out , took a hurried lunch , then strolled down to the office of the _ Advertiser _ , where a crowd was gathered reading the results from the various constituencies as they were posted up on the notice-board outside . Just as he got there , Ben Todd came rushing out of the office , his eyes jumping , his little hunched body quivering with excitement , and his long arms swinging , apelike and energetic . He mounted a chair . He could not settle himself at the start , so all he did was to wave a paper in the air and shout gleefully : -- `` He 's in , boys !