Three o'clock
He thought upon it for a half-hour , not contemplating a messenger or a cab direct to the house , owing to the exposure of it , but finding that time was slipping away to no purpose , he wrote the letter and then began to think again . The hours slipped by , and with them the possibility of the union he had contemplated . He had thought to be joyously aiding Carrie by now in the task of joining her interests to his , and here it was afternoon and nothing done . Three o'clock came , four , five , six , and no letter . The helpless manager paced the floor and grimly endured the gloom of defeat . He saw a busy Saturday ushered out , the Sabbath in , and nothing done . All day , the bar being closed , he brooded alone , shut out from home , from the excitement of his resort , from Carrie , and without the ability to alter his condition one iota .