morning, about ten o'clock
Later in the day a gentleman who owned both a bathing house and a bathing suit on Bailey 's beach was showing the latter possession to a group of friends . `` No one can tell me that Newport is n't damp , '' he said . `` I have n't been in bathing for twenty-four hours , and yet I can actually wring the water out of my suit . '' That same morning , about ten o'clock , Mr. William Cord was shut up in the study of his house -- shut up , that is , as far as entrance from the rest of the house was concerned , but very open as to windows looking out across the grass to the sea . It was a small room , and the leather chairs which made up most of its furnishings were worn , and the bookshelves were filled with volumes like railroad reports and _ Poor 's Manual _ , but somehow the total effect of the room was so agreeable that the family used it more than Mr. Cord liked . He was an impressive figure , tall , erect , and with that suggestion of unbroken health which had had something to do with his success in life . His hair must have been of a sandy brown , for it had turned , not gray nor white , but that queer no-color that sandy hair does turn , melting into all pale surroundings .