noon
He knew him very well ; he was not a person to go out of his way to interfere with anybody , and more than likely it was in relation to Edith 's affairs that he was asked to call . That thought put a new aspect on the matter . Of course if it concerned her interests he ought to go . He dressed with unusual care for him in these days , breakfasted at the cheap restaurant which he frequented , and before noon was in the Fletcher warehouse in Pearl Street . He had never been there before , and he was somewhat curious to see what sort of a place it was where Gilbert carried on the string business , as he used to call it when speaking to Edith of her cousin 's occupation . It was a much more dingy and smelly place than he expected , but the carts about the doors , and the bustle of loading and unloading , of workmen hauling and pulling , and of clerks calling out names and numbers to be registered and checked , gave him the impression that it was not a dull place . Mr. Fletcher received him in the little dim back office with a cordial shake of the hand , gave him a chair , and reseated himself , pushing back the papers in front of him with the air of a very busy man who was dropping for a moment one thing in order to give his mind promptly to another .