noon
From 12:30 to 4 o'clock they were busy with the lunch cups , the bed-rooms , and setting the table for dinner ; but after that they had four hours to themselves , until the nine o'clock supper was over , and once more they washed dishes for half an hour . The caffeteria used only cups and spoons ; the sandwiches and cakes were served on paper plates . In the hand-cart methods of small housekeeping it is impossible to exact the swift precision of such work , but not in the standardized tasks and regular hours of such an establishment as this . Diantha religiously kept her hour at noon , and tried to keep the three in the afternoon ; but the employer and manager can not take irresponsible rest as can the employee . She felt like a most inexperienced captain on a totally new species of ship , and her paper plans looked very weak sometimes , as bills turned out to be larger than she had allowed for , or her patronage unaccountably dwindled . But if the difficulties were great , the girl 's courage was greater . `` It is simply a big piece of work , '' she assured herself , `` and may be a long one , but there never was anything better worth doing .