noon
And sometimes , of late , it has occurred to me that there never was such a mill as I used to know down yonder ; and that the miller , whose coat was always powdered so fragrantly , was but a white ghost , after all . The station-master and porters remember no such person . But he was no ghost ; for I have met him again this week , and upon the station platform . I had started at daybreak to fish up the stream that runs down the valley in curves roughly parallel to the railway embankment ; and coming within sight of the station , a little before noon , I put up my tackle and strolled towards the booking-office . The water was much too fine for sport , and it seemed worth while to break off for a pipe and a look at the 12.26 train . Such are the simple pleasures of a country life . I leant my rod against the wall , and was setting down my creel , when , glancing down the platform , I saw an old man seated on the furthest bench .