noon
Only weak natures fume at the inevitable . There is a certain dignity in silent , passive despair . Annie 's voice singing the closing hymn beside him sounded like an angel 's voice across the `` great gulf . '' Almost mechanically he walked down the aisle out into the sunny noon of a warm October day . Birds were twittering around the porch . Fall insects filled the air with their cheery chirpings . The bay of a dog , the shrill crowing of a cock , came softened across the fields from a neighboring farm .