Two o'clock
After this , he sat and thought steadily . Finally he took a sheet of his best cream laid note paper , dipped his pen in the ink , and began to write . The note was short , but it took him a long while to compose it , and when it was sealed and directed to `` Miss Ruth Deane , Lung ' Arno Guicciardini , Florence , Italy , '' he sat holding it in his hand as if he did not know what to do with it . Two o'clock struck . He started up , and quickly rolling up the shades from the glass roof and pulling out his easel , began to squeeze tube after tube of color upon his palette . The parrot came down and tiptoed about the floor , peering into color boxes , pastel cases , and pots of black soap , with all the curiosity of a regulation studio bore . Steps echoed on the tiles outside .