noon
As in a trance she slipped the string of beads over her head , opened the bottle , and poured a few drops of its contents upon one of the little handkerchiefs , inhaling the rank odor in ecstasy . Jim watched her , amused but touched also . To that luxury-starved little soul the coarse handkerchiefs and cheap perfume meant rapture , and he resolved to see that the gray-haired lady in New York provided something better for Lou than a servant 's position . Education , perhaps -- `` It must be past noon , for the shadows have started to go the other way . '' Her voice broke in upon his meditations . `` We 'd better eat the rolls an ' ham now . How far is it to where we 're goin ' ? ''