ten
o'clock
Men were working in the fields , but those in Huntersville proper seemed to be exhausted with loafing . Campers going in and out of the woods needing shelter for a night , and people demanding meals between trains , kept the dismal looking hotel open and reasonably clean . The situation was very beautiful , for the mountains rose behind and there was a brawling stream . Mr. Dinwiddie having ascertained that `` Mr. '' Hohenhauer had received his message and gone for a walk , leaving word he would return at ten o'clock , Mary went into the hotel parlor to wait for him . The room was seldom used , patrons , local and otherwise , preferring the Bar of happy memories , and it smelled musty . She opened the windows and glanced about distastefully . The walls were covered with a faded yellow paper , torn in places , and the ceiling was smoked and fly-specked .