eight o'clock
Owing to the extreme heat of the summer he had been taking his lessons late in the evening , but on this eventful night his teacher , himself anxious to go , told Archie to come at seven o'clock ; he could then give him a full hour , and the lesson would be over in plenty of time for them both to attend the concert at half-past eight . The lesson was trying and the excitement was beginning to tell on the boy , so , without returning home , he went straight to the hall , his violin case tucked under his arm . Purposely he had engaged a seat in the very first row ; he wanted to watch the great master 's marvellous fingers , as well as drink in the music they made . Even at eight o'clock the hall was so packed that he could hardly get through the aisles . The excellence of the programme , as well as the charitable object , had drawn out the entire town , and Archie took his seat fearful that the overpowering summer heat and crowded hall would be his undoing . He did not even hear the opening piano solo by the `` long-haired fellow , '' as Hock had called him , nor did he rhapsodize over handsome Miss Van Alstine , whose wonderful gown and thrilling voice captured the audience . It was only when a slender , dark , elderly man stepped down to the footlights with a violin in his long , thin hands that Archie sat bolt upright , his eyes blazing with excitement , his breath catching in his throat .