noon
It was worth it all , he told himself , -- worth all the care he had given to the boy , all the money he had spent to restore him to health , worth all he had ever done or ever could do for him , just to have had the lad with him for a year , a month , a week : why it was worth it all and more , yes , vastly more , just to have felt the small hand laid once on his arm , to have seen the loving eyes look up once into his , and to have heard the clear voice say , `` Dear Uncle Billy '' in the confiding way he knew so well . It was nearly midnight when Bachelor Billy went to bed , and long after that hour before he fell asleep . He awoke several times during the night with a sense of loneliness and desolation pressing down upon him , and he arose early to prepare for his day 's work . It was arranged at the breakfast-table that Mrs. Maloney 's oldest girl should go down to Lawyer Sharpman 's office to inquire about Ralph , and Billy was to come home at noon , contrary to his custom , to hear her report . Daylight is a great promoter of natural cheer , and the man went away to his work with a strong hope in his heart of Ralph 's speedy return ; and when the long morning had passed and he hurried back to his home , he half expected that the boy would meet him on the way . But he was disappointed ; even Mrs. Maloney 's girl had no news for him . She had been to Sharpman 's office twice , she said , and had not found him in , though the clerk had told her that Mr. Sharpman had returned from Wilkesbarre the day before .