eight o'clock
A flashy fellow with a predatory eye had followed her in , and had advanced to take the other chair at the little table where she stopped , but Lorison slipped into the seat before him . Their acquaintance began , and grew , and now for two months they had sat at the same table each evening , not meeting by appointment , but as if by a series of fortuitous and happy accidents . After dining , they would take a walk together in one of the little city parks , or among the panoramic markets where exhibits a continuous vaudeville of sights and sounds . Always at eight o'clock their steps led them to a certain street corner , where she prettily but firmly bade him good night and left him . `` I do not live far from here , '' she frequently said , `` and you must let me go the rest of the way alone . '' But now Lorison had discovered that he wanted to go the rest of the way with her , or happiness would depart , leaving , him on a very lonely corner of life . And at the same time that he made the discovery , the secret of his banishment from the society of the good laid its finger in his face and told him it must not be .