noon
He touched his hat to the Elder , and the Elder nodded in return , but neither spoke a word . Mr. Walters smiled after he was well past . `` The man has a touch of the indigestion , '' he said . When the Elder entered his front door at noon , his first glance was at the rack in the corner of the hall , where , on the left-hand hook , Peter Junior 's coat and hat had hung when he was at home , ever since he was a boy . They were not there . The Elder lifted his bushy brows one higher than the other , then drew them down to their usual straight line , and walked on into the dining room . His wife was not there , but in a moment she entered , looking white and perturbed .