noon
To this argument , those who held to the proprietor and partnership theories replied : `` That may all be , but he wastes an awful lot of time in Starratt 's office for a fellow who 's so rushed with his other ventures . '' It was at this point that a few people raised their eyebrows significantly as they said : `` Well , the old boy always did have a pretty keen eye for a skirt . '' It was impossible for Fred Starratt to move anywhere without hearing fragments of all this gossip . During the noon hour particularly it filtered through the midday tattle of business , pleasure , and obscenity -- at the Market , at Collins & Wheeland 's , at Hjul 's coffee house , at Grover 's Lunchroom -- everywhere that clerks forgathered to appease their hunger and indulge in idle speculations . Sometimes he got these things indirectly through chance slips in talks with his friends , again scraps of overheard conversation reached his ears . Quite frequently a frank or a coarse acquaintance , without embarrassment or reserve , would tell him what had been said . He soon got over protesting .