10 o'clock
= The last verse did not scan , exactly , but I wished to use the word `` marry '' if possible . It would show , I felt , that things were really serious and impending . A love affair is only a love affair , but marriage is marriage , and the end of everything . It was at that moment , 10 o'clock , that the strange thing occurred which did not seem strange at all at the time , but which developed into so great a mystery later on . Which was to actually threaten my reason and which , flying on winged feet , was to send me back here to school the day after Christmas and put my seed pearl necklace in the safe deposit vault . Which was very unfair , for what had my necklace to do with it ? And just now , when I need comfort , it -- the necklace -- would help to relieve my exile .