midday
Mrs. Busk considered not the sun , neither any of his doings . The time of day was more momentous than any of the sun 's proceedings . Railway time was what she had to keep -LRB- unless a good customer dropped in -RRB- , and as for the sun -- `` clock slow , clock fast , '' in the almanacs , showed how he managed things ; and if that was not enough , who could trust him to keep time after what he had done upon the dial of Ahaz ? Reasoning thus -- if reason it was -- she packed me off in a fly for the nearest railway station , and by midday I found the Major laboring on his ramparts . After proper salutations , I could not help expressing wonder at the rapid rise of things . Houses here and houses there , springing up like children 's teeth , three or four in a row together , and then a long gap , and then some more . And down the slope a grand hotel , open for refreshment , though as yet it had no roof on ; for the Major , in virtue of his charter , defied all the magistrates to stop him from selling whatever was salable on or off the premises .