seven o'clock
He was in no way a man to wear his heart upon his sleeve , therefore he chatted gaily with his friend and listened to Fred 's extravagant admiration of Enid 's beauty . He congratulated himself that his old friend was in ignorance of the truth . A curious incident occurred at the hotel that same evening , however , which , had Walter been aware of it , would probably have caused him considerable uneasiness and alarm . Just before seven o'clock a tall , rather thin , middle-aged , narrow-eyed man , dressed in dark grey tweeds , entered the hall of the hotel and inquired for Henry , the head waiter . He was well dressed and bore an almost professional air . The white-headed old man quickly appeared , when the stranger , whose moustache was carefully trimmed and who wore a ruby ring upon his white hand , made an anxious inquiry whether Fetherston , whom he minutely described , had been there that day . At first the head waiter hesitated and was uncommunicative , but , the stranger having uttered a few low words , Henry 's manner instantly changed .