noon
And he smiled happily to think that his interest in them was Fifty-percent depreciated in twenty-four hours ; now he owned only half ... . Suddenly he sat up , with happy eyes and a glowing face . _ She _ had trusted him ! At noon , precisely , Maitland stirred between the sheets for the first time since he had thrown himself into his bed -- stirred , and , confused by whatever alarm had awakened him , yawned stupendously , and sat up , rubbing clenched fists in his eyes to clear them of sleep 's cobwebs . Then he bent forward , clasping his knees , smiled largely , replaced the smile with a thoughtful frown , and in such wise contemplated the foot of the bed for several minutes , -- his first conscious impression , that he had something delightful to look forward to yielding to a vague recollection of a prolonged shrill tintinnabulation -- as if the telephone bell in the front room had been ringing for some time . But he waited in vain for a repetition of the sound , and eventually concluded that he had been mistaken ; it had been an echo from his dreams , most likely . Besides , who should call him up ?