noon
Chris gave a chuckle out loud . What a chance -- to see what once had been ! He was enjoying himself increasingly as he glanced down at the activity along the riverbanks . -LSB- Illustration -RSB- So close to noon , the sailors and stevedores had vanished to eat their meal , and passers-by were few . The street was nearly deserted when along the hardened muddy ruts of Water Street Chris heard a wailing cry : `` Pity the blind ! Pity the pore blind ! '' The boy looked down , and the drop below him to the road made his head swim , until he refused to think of it .