ten
o'clock
He continued to walk thus hurriedly backward and forward for the space of half an hour ; when , as if some long debated point had been at last decided , he grasped the parlour door with a firm hand , threw it open , took from the rack his hat , cloak , and cane , and in a few moments was in the street . The jar of the street door , as it closed , was distinctly heard by Blanche , and this caused the troubled feeling which had oppressed her all the evening , to change into one of anxiety . Where could Henry be going at this late hour ? He rarely stayed out beyond ten o'clock ; and she had never before known him to leave the house after the usual bedtime of the family . His going out had , of course , something to do with his unhappy mood . What could it mean ? She could not suspect him of any wrong .