About a quarter to seven
Horace could say nothing against this arrangement , though it meant more separation from Reginald . At present , however , his hand not being in , he had nothing to keep him after the seven o'clock bell , and he eagerly escaped at its first sound to look for Reginald . Not , however , till he had witnessed a strange sight . About a quarter to seven Booms , whose early evening it was , showed signs of uneasiness . He glanced sorrowfully once or twice at the clock , then at Horace , then at Waterford . Then he got up and put his papers away . Finally he mused on a washhand basin in a corner of the room , and said dolefully , -- `` I must dress , I think , Waterford . ''