midday
Men are such stupid unfeeling brutes . I am , at least ; for I had never read in this dear woman 's face until that instant what must have been written there all these years , -- the love that might have been given to a husband and children of her own , this lonely , childless woman had given to me . `` Aunty , I 'll never leave you again , '' I declared , as she clung to me , and patted my cheeks and stroked my rough curly hair . We sat down together to the midday meal , and my father 's blessing was like the benediction of Heaven to my ears . Springvale also had its measure of good breeding . My coming was the choicest news that Dever had had to give out for many a day , and the circulation was amazing in its rapid transit . I had a host of friends here where I had grown to manhood , and the first impulse was to take Cliff Street by storm .