noon
`` Ah , '' said the bishop , chuckling softly , `` so it is . A good Welsh name , but Peter would be more appropriate under the circumstances . '' With this little jest , whose significance Leigh was somewhat slow in grasping , he once more descended the stairs . It was now high noon , and Leigh , left alone , paced up and down the large , sunny square , filled with appreciative thoughts of the bishop . So benign and humorous was the presence of the man that for some time his influence survived his actual departure and precluded other thoughts . In a reactionary glow of hope and confidence the young astronomer traversed the circumference of his lofty eyrie , pausing from time to time to gaze through one of the embrasures of the parapet upon the incomparable scene below . Accustomed as he was to the arid glory of California , he found a grateful refreshment in this far greener country .