Ten minutes after five
When he raised his eyes from the pages before him he saw an empty road running with water ; beyond that a bare , weed-grown , sodden field that stretched westward to the unattractive backs of the one-and two-storied shops on Main Street . Livingston 's room was n't in any sense central , but he liked it because it was quiet , because aside from the family he had the house to himself , and because Mrs. Saunders , his landlady , was goodness itself and administered to his comfort almost as his own mother would have done . The freshman president laid aside his book , grimaced at the dreary prospect , and took out his watch . `` Ten minutes after five , '' he murmured . `` Heavens , what a beastly dark day ! I 'll have to start to get dressed before long . Too bad we 've got such weather for the affair . ''