noon
`` God tell me quick , what must I do ? '' she demanded , and the next instant , as if in answer to her prayer , she heard herself gasp , `` Dan ! '' as she fumbled wildly for the telephone . The shrill whistle that at noon had obtruded its discord into Nance Molloy 's thoughts had a very different effect on Dan Lewis , washing his hands under the hydrant in the factory yard . _ He _ had not forgotten that it was Saturday . Neither had Growler , who stood watching him with an oblique look in his old eye that said as plain as words that he knew what momentous business was brewing at five o'clock . It was not only Saturday for Dan , but the most important Saturday that ever figured on the calendar .