five o'clock
`` They wo n't let you upset it at the last moment . '' `` We 'll give them a run for their money , '' said Kent . `` A good bit of it depends upon Perkins ' speed as a stenographer . '' As it befell , Perkins did not prove a disappointment , and by five o'clock Kent was in the lobby of the Mid-Continent , sending his card up to the judge 's room . Word came back that the judge was in the café fortifying the inner man in preparation for his journey , and Kent did not stand upon ceremony . From the archway of the dining-room he marked down his man at a small table in the corner , and went to him at once , plunging promptly into the matter in hand . `` The exigencies of the case must plead my excuse for intruding upon you here , Judge MacFarlane , '' he began courteously .