eight in the evening
He halted , turned back , his whole long body shaking , his face wrung with fear and uncertainty . `` Good God ! '' he cried -- `` which of us is right -- she or I ? '' Toward eight in the evening , after a day-long search through all his accustomed haunts , Ember ran Whitaker to earth in the dining-room of the Primordial . The young man , alone at table , was in the act of topping off an excellent dinner with a still more excellent cordial and a super-excellent cigar . His person seemed to diffuse a generous atmosphere of contentment and satisfaction , no less mental than physical and singularly at variance with his appearance , which , moreover , was singularly out of keeping not only with his surroundings but also with his normal aspect . He wore rough tweeds , and they were damp and baggy ; his boots were muddy ; his hair was a trifle disorderly .