ten o'clock
Mrs. Ladley , or Miss Brice , as she preferred to be known , had a small part at a local theater that kept a permanent company . Her husband was in that business , too , but he had nothing to do . It was the wife who paid the bills , and a lot of quarreling they did about it . I knocked at the door at ten o'clock , and Mr. Ladley opened it . He was a short man , rather stout and getting bald , and he always had a cigarette . Even yet , the parlor carpet smells of them . `` What do you want ? ''