three o'clock
What is their name ? '' He heard it , but it conveyed nothing to him . After a moment 's reflection , he decided to go to the hotel , and there write a note . Whilst he was having lunch , the reply came , a dry missive , saying that , if he would call at three o'clock , Mrs. Woolstan would have much pleasure in presenting him to her friends the Barkers , with whom she was spending the day . Lashmar fumed , but obeyed the invitation . In a garden on the edge of the cliff , he found half a dozen persons ; an elderly man who looked like a retired tradesman , his wife , of suitable appearance , their son , their two daughters , and Iris Woolstan . Loud and mirthful talk was going on ; his arrival interrupted it only for a moment .