twelve o'clock
No sooner had the guests been seated at small round tables and the refreshments served , than some one remembered that a big charity ball was in progress at the armory , and it was proposed that the evening be concluded there . The suggestion met with instant approval . In spite of the indignant protests of the elders , the gay company , headed by Eleanor , left the half-eaten ices melting on their plates , and , rising in a body , took noisy and immediate flight . At twelve o'clock the elaborately decorated rooms were empty , the musicians were packing their instruments , the caterers were removing trays of untasted food , and Quin , standing dazed in the deserted hall , one hand clasping his shirt-front and the other on his face , was trying in vain to realize that the party which he had inspired had proved his Waterloo ! The next day Quin sold his dinner-coat for a fourth of what he paid for it , and forswore society forever . There was absolutely nothing in it , he assured the Martels , a conviction that assorted strangely with the fact that he devoured the columns in the daily papers devoted to the doings of the social elect , and waded through endless lists under the caption `` Among Those Present . '' Every hour in the day he invented a new scheme for seeing Eleanor , which pride alone prevented him from carrying out .