five minutes to
eight
`` Awfully sorry to be late -- detestable thing to do -- going away in the morning -- thousand-and-one things to attend to -- be down in a moment to offer humble apology . '' Swiftly and silently Wentworth removed the coat from within his own , crossed the hall , substituted the baum marten for the Russian sable , and reentered the gentlemen 's dressing room , where it was but the work of a moment to conceal the garment within the folds of his coat . Then he descended the stairs , entered the dining room , and seated himself in the vacant chair beside Jean McNabb . The dinner went as dinners do and was brought to a rather abrupt termination by someone 's discovery that it lacked but five minutes to eight . As the guests rose from the table Wentworth gave a startled exclamation . `` In my haste in dressing I forgot my pocketbook . I distinctly recollect removing it from my pocket and tossing it upon the bed , and there I must have left it . ''