about noon
It was a strange day , too -- the world of London vaguely shining through a pale fog , the sun a globe of red fire . There was hoar-frost on the window-ledges ; at last the winter seemed about to begin . And then , as ill luck would have it , Miss White had some important business at the theatre to attend to , so that she could not see him till the afternoon ; and he had to pass the empty morning somehow . `` You look like a man going to be hanged , '' said the major , about noon . `` Come , shall we stroll down to the river now ? We can have a chat with your friend before lunch , and a look over his boat . '' Colonel Ross , being by chance at Erith , had heard of Macleod 's being in town , and had immediately come up in his little steam-yacht , the _ Iris _ , which now lay at anchor close to Westminster Bridge , on the Lambeth side .