ten o'clock
To the stolid German mind they were human comets , whose comings and goings were not to be gaged by any reasonable standard . No , the veranda was empty -- to him . Plenty of people greeted him ; but there was no Helen . Ultimately he reflected that their appointment was for ten o'clock . He calmed down , and a pipe became obvious . He was enjoying that supremest delight of the smoker -- the first soothing whiffs of the day 's tobacco -- when a servant brought him a note . The handwriting was strange to his eyes ; but a premonition told him that it was Helen 's .