one o'clock
Mr. Feuerstein had come to New York to perform a carefully-planned last act in his life-drama , one that would send the curtain down amid tears and plaudits for Mr. Feuerstein , the central figure , enwrapped in a somber and baleful blaze of glory . He had arranged everything except such details as must be left to the inspiration of the moment . He was impatient for the curtain to rise -- besides , he had empty pockets and might be prevented from his climax by a vulgar arrest for vagrancy . At one o'clock Hilda was in her father 's shop alone . The rest of the family were at the midday dinner . As she bent over the counter , near the door , she was filling a sheet of wrapping paper with figures -- calculations in connection with the new business . A shadow fell across her paper and she looked up .