half past seven in the evening
She had spent the afternoon in the kitchen ; she spent the evening in all those little final tasks which seem so small and yet in the aggregate do weigh heavily , upon the eve of entertaining . Work at the bank kept Max until he had barely time to go to the station for his guests . Alec , coming home to dinner , and finding himself put off with what he hungrily characterized as a mere `` bite , '' on account of the necessities of the occasion , went off again somewhere , declaring that he did not see the occasion for starving the family just on account of entertaining two already overfed visitors . Uncle Timothy , as was to be expected , as soon as he heard of the emergency , joined Bob in coming to Sally 's aid , and at half past seven in the evening might have been discovered by the curious , sitting in the small kitchen , a blue-checked apron tied about his neck , busily polishing silver . `` It seemed to me pretty bright before , Sally , '' was his only comment as he worked . `` But I suppose no man could really comprehend the difference between the degree of brightness suitable for one 's family and that demanded by company . '' `` If you had seen Dorothy Chase 's wedding silver -- '' responded Sally , and stopped there , as if words could no further go .