nearly ten o'clock
They were sailing by one of the obscure lines , not for economy 's sake , but to avoid possible contact with friends of their own class . As he rattled off through the night , huddled back in the blackness of the cab , Hugh began to have the first pangs of uneasiness . The distressing fear that all had not gone well with Grace flooded his brain with misgivings and feverish doubts . A clock in a shop window told him it was nearly ten o'clock . He was cursing himself for permitting her to rush off alone in a night like this , into a quarter that reeked with uncertainty and disorder . Vague horrors presented themselves to his distressed mind ; calamity stared at him from the mouth of every dark alley ; outrage , crime , misfortune , danced in every shadow . As for himself , he was a sorry sight and enough to frighten Grace into convulsions at one glance .