noon
Emma did n't know that , of course . She kissed the big cat , placed him carefully on the bed , and lay down beside him in the attitude of a corpse . She was resigning herself to whatever should happen . Peter , upon telephoning his uncle , had been advised to prowl about until noon , when they were to lunch together . Wherefore he found himself upon the top of a bus , rolling about New York , seeing that of which he had read . He did n't see it as Nancy saw it ; the city appeared to him as might some subtle , hard , and fascinatingly plain woman whose face had flashes of piercing and unforgetable beauty , beauty unexpected and unlike any other . Unlike the beauty of the Carolina coast , say , which was a part of his consciousness , there was here something sinister and splendid .