midday
Yet now and then they must surely be glad to know that thoughtful women and thoughtful men follow their work and bless them in silence , sending across the world to them a homage of praise that is , perhaps , richer than the plaudits of the crowd . And not to them only , but also to the mothers who bid them go , accepting their hard part of lonely , anxious waiting without complaint . And if they fall by the wayside , unrecognised , unknown , but having carried the path forward , maybe a mile , maybe a yard , maybe an inch , how great a thing is that compared to the small happenings that of necessity make up most men 's lives ! In the sultry midday heat Carew sat alone in his hut , and certain memories , that for fifteen years he had tried to crush out of his mind , crowded back upon him with overwhelming force in the grip of his sudden sorrow . For that sad event which had plunged a great nation into grief had been to him a personal loss . In the silence and shadow he mourned deeply , not only the idol of his youth and dear object of his heart 's best loyalty , but the memory of a friend . For long ago , or so it seemed , there had been a moment when a royal hand had clasped his , and a royal voice -- the royalty all lost in the friend -- had said , `` Perhaps you are right .