noon
Absurd , to think of him as spending two days in tennis shoes , and absurd to say that he would go to the shops and buy more when he had plenty of footgear in his hotel room . Unless he wore McLean 's . She had always regarded the unknown McLean as a most unnecessary absorbent of Jack Ryder 's time and attention and now that view was deeply reinforced . By noon she decided to do something . She would telephone that Andrew McLean and see if Jack had been there . The Agricultural Bank , that was the place . An obliging hotel clerk -- clerks were always obliging to Miss Jeffries -- gave her the number and she slipped into the booth feeling a ridiculous amount of excitement and suspense .