midday
In that case all must come out . The shareholders would begin to ask troublesome questions which the directors must answer ; and he -- well -- he , with all his heart and soul wished when he put on his hat over Mortomley 's affairs , he had kept it on and left St. Vedast Wharf for ever , shaking the dust off his shoes as he did so . But now all he had to hope for was that Henry Werner would obey his commands , issued in no doubtful terms , and bring that which might satisfy his , Mr. Forde 's , directors . Werner had ordered him out of his office , indeed , words grew so high between them ; but he had still said he should be heard of by midday , and now it was one o'clock and neither he nor any tidings had come . Mr. Forde felt he could not endure being treated in this way any longer , so he walked across to Mr. Werner 's office , where he asked young Carless , once in Mortomley 's Thames Street Warehouse , if his master was in . `` He has not come yet , '' was the answer ; and had Mr. Forde been looking at the clerks ' faces instead of thinking of Mr. Werner 's shortcomings , he would have noticed an expression on them which might well have puzzled his comprehension . `` I will wait for him , '' and Mr. Forde made a step towards the inner office as if intending to take up a position there .