half after two
Perhaps it would be safer if I knew Pauline Pry would see it ! I 'll try to write as if I knew she would ... . But by the spark I thought I saw in those black eyes I do n't really imagine Pauline will ! '' The hands of the office clock were pointing to half after two , on a certain September night , when Burns came into his office , alone . The fire in the office fireplace , kept bright until nearly midnight , when his housekeeper had given up waiting for him and gone to bed , had burned to a few smouldering lumps of cannel-slag . A big leather easy-chair , its arms worn with much use , had been pulled into an inviting position before the fireplace , and the night-light by the desk was burning , as usual . All that could be expected had been done by the kind-hearted Cynthia , who comprehended , by signs she knew well and had been watching for several days , that affairs were going wrong with her employer .