noon
It did n't hurt the man and it did n't make the machine into a monster . But they made Burckhardt uncomfortable all the same . He put Barth and the factory and all his other little irritations out of his mind and tackled the tax returns . It took him until noon to verify the figures -- which Barth could have done out of his memory and his private ledger in ten minutes , Burckhardt resentfully reminded himself . He sealed them in an envelope and walked out to Miss Mitkin . `` Since Mr. Barth is n't here , we 'd better go to lunch in shifts , '' he said . `` You can go first . ''