noon
In fact , it was the natural outcome of the man 's nature -- arrogant , contemptuous of his fellowmen and of their opinions , and , like all the master men , capable of such concentration upon a desire that he would adopt any means , high or low , dignified or the reverse , if only it promised to further his end . Fred Norman , at these vulgar vigils , took the measure of his own self-abasement to a hair 's breadth . But he kept on , with the fever of his infatuation burning like a delirium , burning higher and deeper with each baffled day . At noon , one day , as he swung into Broadway from Cedar street , he ran straight into Tetlow . It was raining and his umbrella caught in Tetlow 's . It was a ludicrous situation , but there was no answering smile in his former friend 's eyes . Tetlow glowered .