noon
All this vulgarity could not take away from the man called Kalon the vivid oppression and inspiration that came from his soul and body . When all was said , a man in the presence of this quack did feel in the presence of a great man . Even in the loose jacket-suit of linen that he wore as a workshop dress in his office he was a fascinating and formidable figure ; and when robed in the white vestments and crowned with the golden circlet , in which he daily saluted the sun , he really looked so splendid that the laughter of the street people sometimes died suddenly on their lips . For three times in the day the new sun-worshipper went out on his little balcony , in the face of all Westminster , to say some litany to his shining lord : once at daybreak , once at sunset , and once at the shock of noon . And it was while the shock of noon still shook faintly from the towers of Parliament and parish church that Father Brown , the friend of Flambeau , first looked up and saw the white priest of Apollo . Flambeau had seen quite enough of these daily salutations of Phoebus , and plunged into the porch of the tall building without even looking for his clerical friend to follow . But Father Brown , whether from a professional interest in ritual or a strong individual interest in tomfoolery , stopped and stared up at the balcony of the sun-worshipper , just as he might have stopped and stared up at a Punch and Judy .