noon
Secondly , she could not have turned to the right , for in that direction the street was straight and without any lateral exit , so that he must have seen her . Therefore she must have gone to the left , since on that side there was a narrow alley leading out of the lane , at some distance from the point where he was now standing -- too far , indeed , for her to have reached it unnoticed , unless , as was possible , he had been greatly deceived in the distance which had lately separated her from him . Without further hesitation , he turned to the left . He found no one in the way , for it was not yet noon , and at that hour the people were either at their prayers or at their Sunday morning 's potations , and the place was as deserted as a disused cemetery . Still he hastened onward , never pausing for breath , till he found himself all at once in the great Ring . He knew the city well , but in his race he had bestowed no attention upon the familiar windings and turnings , thinking only of overtaking the fleeting vision , no matter how , no matter where . Now , on a sudden , the great , irregular square opened before him , flanked on the one side by the fantastic spires of the Teyn Church , and the blackened front of the huge Kinsky Palace , on the other by the half-modern Town Hall with its ancient tower , its beautiful porch , and the graceful oriel which forms the apse of the chapel in the second story .