six o'clock
Had he been too finely tempered by circumstances or had the flame of life lacked the proper heat for fusing his virtues effectively ? For the moment she found Flint 's forthright insolence more tolerable than Stillman 's sterile deference . Suddenly she began to think of home , not with any sense of security , but as something unpleasant , dark , disquieting ... Toward six o'clock one afternoon in late February Ned Stillman , making his way from the business district at California and Montgomery Streets toward his club , suddenly remembered a forgotten luncheon engagement for that day with Lily Condor . `` Well , '' he muttered at once , `` I 'm in for it now ! I guess I might as well swing out and see her and get the thing over with . '' It was curious of late how often he was given to muttering .