noon
What did it all amount to , this grind of business , when the heartache of the world called for so much sympathy ! Then ever him came the sense of his obligations to his family ; Clara 's need of a father 's help ; George going to the bad ; Alice in need of sympathy ; his wife weeping even now at home ; the church and Sunday School where he had been of so little use ; the family of Scoville to be provided for ; the other injured men to be visited ; improvements for the welfare of the men in the shops to be looked after ; the routine of his business -- all these things crowded in upon him , and still he saw the face and heard the voice of Eternity : `` Seven days more to live ! '' He sank into a reverie for a moment . He was roused by the sounding of the noon whistle . What , noon already ? So swiftly had the time gone ! He turned to his desk bewildered and picked up his letters , glanced over them hurriedly , and gave directions for the answers of some of them to his impatient clerk , who had been wondering at his employer 's strange behaviour this morning .