the hour of
seven
But from none of them had he shrunk as he did from the interview thus demanded . He had supposed himself rid of this man . He had dismissed him from his life when he had dismissed Sweetwater . His face , accordingly , wore anything but a propitiatory look , when promptly at the hour of seven , Orlando Brotherson entered his apartments . His pleasure or his displeasure was , however , a matter of small consequence to his self-invited visitor . He had come there with a set purpose , and nothing in heaven or earth could deter him from it now . Declining the offer of a seat , with the slightest of acknowledgments in the way of a bow , he took a careful survey of the room before saying : `` Are we alone , Mr. Challoner , or is that man Sweetwater lurking somewhere within hearing ? ''