noon
`` Oh , well , I do n't know . This might be lots worse -- in spite of the tidies ! '' chuckled Mr. John Smith , as he singled out the keys of his trunks . At the noon dinner-table Mr. Smith met Mr. Frank Blaisdell . He was a portly man with rather thick gray hair and `` mutton-chop '' gray whiskers . He ate very fast , and a great deal , yet he still found time to talk interestedly with his new boarder . He was plainly a man of decided opinions -- opinions which he did not hesitate to express , and which he emphasized with resounding thumps of his fists on the table .