ten o'clock
As the other girls came in they were pressed into service , papers and papers and papers , the drift of years , were tossed out of drawers and cubby-holes . Much excited laughter and chatter went on . Probably not one girl among them felt anything but pleasure and relief at the unexpected holiday , and a sense of utter confidence in the future . Mr. Philip , fussily entering the disordered room at ten o'clock , announced his regret at the suddenness of the change ; the young ladies would be paid their salaries for the uncompleted month -- a murmur of satisfaction arose -- and , in short , the firm hoped that their association had been as pleasant to them as it had been to his partners and himself . `` They had a directors ' meeting on Saturday , '' Thorny said , later , `` and if you ask me my frank opinion , I think Henry Brauer is at the bottom of all this . What do you know about his having been at that meeting on Saturday , and his going to have the office right next to J. G. 's -- is n't that the extension of the limit ? He 's as good as in the firm now . ''