noon
By the time he reached the street , a daring scheme was half-formed in his brain -- a scheme which , if successful , would work the utter ruin of Hedin , and leave him a clear field with the girl . At the first corner he excused himself . Hardly was the girl 's back turned when Wentworth dodged around the corner and entered McNabb 's store by another door just in time to see old John rush from the building , bag in hand , and hurry down the street in the direction of the station . McNabb 's was the only big store in Terrace City , and being a department store , it kept city hours , so while on Saturday evenings all the other stores remained open for business until a late hour , McNabb 's closed at noon . Passing unnoticed down the aisle , Wentworth 's eyes darted here and there in search of a place of concealment , until at length he took up a position close beside McNabb 's private office , the door of which , he noted with satisfaction , stood slightly ajar . Watching his opportunity , Wentworth slipped unnoticed into the private office , closed the door softly behind him , and sank comfortably into McNabb 's desk chair . A gong sounded , and was repeated , dimly , upon the floors above .