noon
You will excuse me for requesting this , but business is business . '' `` So I am learning , '' I coldly observed , and this closed our interview . I was convinced that `` the conspirators '' had gotten into communication with my brokers , but of course I could not prove it . As the noon hour approached , N.O. & G. sagged off to 53 on comparatively heavy transactions . It stuck there until over the various mechanisms for sending information came this simple announcement , `` The directors of the N.O. & G. have passed the regular semi-annual dividend . '' The card boy of the stock board became busy . N.O. & G. dropped a point or more between sales , until it struck 47 .