midday
She pulled herself up sharply , glancing at the back of the boy 's head : for he had turned his face aside . `` No -- I didn ' mean that . An ' -- an ' the way you stood up fer me bein ' honest was jus ' splendid -- after what you 'd said about tellin ' lies , too . '' They wandered about the docks all day , dodging official observation , and ate their midday crust behind the cinder-shed that had been their shelter over-night . Tilda had regained and kept her old courage , and in the end her faith was justified . Towards nightfall Bill sought them out where he had first found them , by the quay-edge close above the _ Severn Belle _ . `` It 's all right , '' he said .