noon
I had forgotten what she was like , but I found her a handsome little craft , with two cabins , and deck-room to accommodate four or five passengers ; also I learned from a man employed on the quay close by that the motor was an American one of thirty horse-power . He told me as well , by way of gossip , that a rakish barge , moored with her pert brass nose almost on `` Lorelei 's '' stern , had been hired , and would be towed by the owners of the motor-boat . I did n't know what to make of this bit of information , as Robert had not mentioned a barge ; but the skylight meant a studio , so I saw the man Starr 's hand in the arrangement , and began to hate the fellow . By the time I had loitered in the neighborhood for half an hour or more , it was noon , and it occurred to me that I might go and lunch at Miss Van Buren 's hotel . But this would look like dogging the girl 's footsteps , and eventually I decided upon a more subtle means of gaining my end . Nevertheless , I strolled past the house ; but , seeing nobody worth seeing , I reluctantly turned my steps farther on to a garden restaurant -- a middle-class place , with tables under chestnuts and beeches or in shady arbors for parties of two or four . It was early still , but the restaurant is popular , and all the small tables under the trees were appropriated .