one
o'clock
Do as he wishes and as I wish too . '' `` And give you a chance to intrigue with the Handsome Ludlows of Washington ? '' By and by , as he sat writing in his study , he would have unsaid the taunt , and resolved that he would talk rationally with her of his dilemma and of the course he was prepared to take ; but no opportunity befell that evening , and on the morrow , the last day left him but one , he breakfasted alone . Partly with the intention of speaking to her , partly for freedom from the button-holing of the grillroom where he usually lunched , he left the executive chamber shortly before one o'clock and set out on foot for his home . As he turned from the capitol park into his own street , Mrs. Van Dam 's carriage halted abruptly at the curb , and the old lady beckoned him . `` I 'll not ask you to get in , '' she said , `` for I 'm sure you need the walk , but I 've news to tell you of a friend of ours . Ruth Graves 's husband died in Los Angeles yesterday after an operation for appendicitis . ''