five o'clock
Breaking one from the long stem , she fastened it in place of the violets in the cloud of lace on her bosom . `` Pink suits me better , after all , '' she remarked gayly ; `` and now you must let Bradley come , and Jessy and I will go to the theatre . '' `` I suppose he 'll have to come , '' I said moodily , `` but I 'll be up earlier to-morrow , Sally , if I wreck the bank in order to do it . '' All the next day I kept the importance of fulfilling this promise in my mind , and at five o'clock , I abruptly broke off a business appointment to rush breathlessly home in the hope of finding Sally ready to walk or to drive . As I turned the corner , however , I saw , to my disappointment , that several riding horses were waiting under the young maples beside the pavement , and when I entered the house , I heard the merry flutelike tones of Bonny Page from the long drawing-room , where Sally was serving tea . For a minute the unconquerable shyness I always felt in the presence of women held me , rooted in silence , on the threshold . Then , `` Is that you , Ben ? ''