Three o'clock
After the meal , he returned to his store -- a faint hope springing up in his mind that Edward might have submitted the aid he had asked for so humbly by private hand , or through some broker in the city , and that it would yet arrive in time to save him . Alas ! this proved a vain hope . Three o'clock came , and the unredeemed note still lay in bank . `` It is all over ! '' murmured the unhappy man , as like the strokes of a hammer upon his heart fell the three distinct chimes that rung the knell of his business life . Taking up a newspaper , and affecting to read , Mr. Howland sat for nearly an hour awaiting the notorial visit , which seemed long delayed .