midday
But he betrayed an ability and a training that should already have raised him above his present situation in the social scale , as Louise understood it . She was disappointed , and although she bade Lawford Tapp good-bye pleasantly she was secretly unhappy . The next morning she chanced to need several little things that were not to be found in Cap'n Abe 's store and she went uptown in quest of them . At midday she was still thus engaged , so she went to the Inn for lunch . Gusty Durgin spied her as she entered and found a small table for Louise where she would be alone . A fat woman whom Gusty mentioned as `` the boss 's sister , Sara Ann Whipple , '' helped wait upon the guests . Several of the business men of the town , as well as the guests of the Inn , took their dinners there .