noon
To be sure , he could not remember that an exaggerated estimate of the Great West had ever been a vagary of his own youth . But then , he supposed that the West had made advances since his day ! A glance at his watch changed the direction of his thoughts , and a few minutes later Vittorio was rowing him swiftly , with the tide , up the Grand Canal . Just as the noon gun roared out from the base of San Giorgio , the Colonel rang the bell of the Palazzo Darino . She was sitting , the lady of his evening reverie , the lady of a life-long reverie , one might as truly say , just as he had hoped to find her , alone and disengaged . Two or three open letters lay upon the table beside her , but they lay there meekly , as if they knew that they must bide their time . `` Ah !