twelve o'clock
`` I hope I shall do as well as I did yesterday , '' thought Paul . `` If I can make nine shillings every day I wo n't complain . It is better than selling prize-packages . '' Paul seemed likely to obtain his wish , since at twelve o'clock , when he returned home to dinner , he had sold ten ties , making rather more than half of the previous day 's sales . Mrs. Hoffman had been out once more , but met with no better success than before . There seemed to be no room anywhere for a new hand . At several places she had seen others , out of employment like herself , who were also in quest of work .