nine o'clock
When she returned for the second sitting , and then at later sittings , they had remarked this change , and had spoken of it to one another -- that she was as a person into whose life some joyous , unbelievable event has fallen , brightening the present and the future . Every day some old cloudy care seemed to loose itself from its lurking-place and drift away from her mind , leaving her face less obscured and thus the more beautifully revealed to them . Now , with the end of the sittings not far off , what they looked forward to with most regret was the last sitting , when she , leaving her portrait in their hands , would herself vanish , taking with her both the mystery of her old sorrows and the mystery of this new happiness . Promptly at nine o'clock the teacher of the class entered , greeted them , and glanced around for the model . Not seeing her , he looked at his watch , then without comment crossed to the easels , and studied again the progress made the previous day , correcting , approving , guiding , encouraging . His demeanor showed that he entered into the mounting enthusiasm of his class for this particular piece of work . A few minutes were thus quickly consumed .