eight o'clock
`` I ca n't tell , '' replied the girl desperately , anxious to promise and yet afraid . `` You 'll go , '' said Druce positively , `` at eight o'clock -- '' A cool voice broke in on his sentence . Druce started like a man suddenly drenched with cold water . `` What 's that is going to happen at eight o'clock , Mr. Druce ? '' The speaker was Patience Welcome . Patience Welcome shared all the prejudices of her employer , John Price , against `` city chaps . '' Her observation of those who had presented themselves in Millville had not raised her estimate of them .