noon
`` That is , I mean to say , there 's some talk of his running for Mayor . '' `` WHAT ? '' There was a general exclamation , followed by an uncomfortable moment or two of silence . No one present was unaware of that noon walk , though there was prevalent a pleasing notion that it would not happen again , founded on the idea that Ariel , having only arrived the previous evening , had probably met Joe on the street by accident , and , remembering him as a playmate of her childhood and uninformed as to his reputation , had , naturally enough , permitted him to walk home with her . Mr. Flitcroft broke the silence , rushing into words with a derisive laugh : `` Yes , he 's ` talked of ' for Mayor -- by the saloon people and the niggers ! I expect the Beaver Beach crowd would be for him , and if tramps could vote he might -- '' `` What is Beaver Beach ? '' asked Ariel , not turning .