noon
In all the moods and tenses of the little maid the doctor looked for and found reminiscences of her mother . Through those eight lonely years the little girl had divided with his profession the doctor 's days . Every morning after breakfast he stood to watch the trim , sturdy , round little figure dance down the steps , step primly down the walk , turn at the gate to throw a kiss , and then march away along the street to the corner where another kiss would greet him before the final vanishing . Every day they met at noon to exchange on equal terms the experiences of the morning . Every night they closed the day with dinner and family prayers , the little girl gravely taking her part in the reading during the last year from her mother 's Bible . And so it came that with the years their friendship grew in depth , in frankness and in tenderness . The doctor was widely read beyond the literature of his profession , and every day for a half hour it was his custom to share with the little girl the treasures of his library .