ten o'clock
Gradually Victor Hartman recovered his composure and talked intelligently and fluently upon the subject of gold mining , Chinese emigration , and so forth . Only when he would chance to meet the full gaze of Electra 's `` wild eyes , '' or catch the tones of Emma 's mellifluous voice , then , indeed , he would show signs of disturbance . He would look or listen , and put his hand to his forehead with an expression of painful perplexity . At ten o'clock the gentlemen arose to bid the young ladies good-night . It was then arranged that the whole party should visit the University the next day and go through all the buildings on a tour of inspection . When the visitors had gone , Electra suddenly inquired : `` Well , what do you think of the Californian ? '' `` I think him very handsome , '' said Laura , `` but decidedly the most awkward man I ever saw in all the days of my life .