noon
Wealthy as he was , he could have maintained an entire crew on board whose whole duty should have been to screw , and scrub , and scour . But Jadwin would have none of it . `` Costs too much , '' he would declare , with profound gravity . He had the self-made American 's handiness with implements and paint brushes , and he would , at high noon and under a murderous sun , make the trip from the house to the dock where the `` Thetis '' was moored , for the trivial pleasure of tightening a bolt -- which did not need tightening ; or wake up in the night to tell Laura of some wonderful new idea he had conceived as to the equipment or decoration of the yacht . He had blustered about the extravagance of a `` crew , '' but the sums of money that went to the brightening , refitting , overhauling , repainting , and reballasting of the boat -- all absolutely uncalled-for -- made even Laura gasp , and would have maintained a dozen sailors an entire year . This same inconsistency prevailed also in other directions . In the matter of business Jadwin 's economy was unimpeachable .