eleven o'clock
The hall was wainscotted in yellow painted wood ; on the right-hand side there was a large brown press , with glass doors , surmounted by a pair of buffalo horns ; on the opposite wall hung a barometer ; and the wide , slowly sloping staircase , with its low thick banisters , ascended in front of the street door . The apartments were not , however , furnished with archaeological correctness . A wall-paper of an antique design contrasted with a modern tablecloth , and the sombre red curtains were ill suited to the plate-glass which had replaced the narrow windows of old time . Dick did not like the dust nor the tarnish , but no other bed and sitting-room being available , a bargain was soon struck , and the proprietor , after hoping that his guests would be comfortable , informed them that the rule of his house was that the street door was barred and locked at eleven o'clock , and would be reopened for no one . He was a quiet man who kept an orderly house , and if people could not manage to be in before midnight he did not care for their custom . After grumbling a bit , Dick remembered that the pubs closed at eleven , and as he did not know anyone in the town there would be no temptation to stay out . Williams , who had been attentively examining Kate , said that he was going down to the theatre , and asked if he should have the luggage sent up .