nine o'clock
She gave his arm another little caress and they proceeded immediately to the dining room , where the string orchestra and the small talk of two hundred and fifty guests strove vainly for the ascendency in one maddening cacophony . It was nearly eight o'clock before Elkan and Yetta arose from the table and repaired to the veranda whose rockers were filled with a chattering throng . `` Let 's get out of this , '' Elkan said , and they descended the veranda steps to the sidewalk . Five minutes later they were seated on a remote bench of the boardwalk , and until nine o'clock they watched the beauty of the moon and sea , which is constant even at Egremont Beach . When they rose to go Yetta noticed for the first time a shawl-clad figure on the adjacent bench , and immediately a pair of keen eyes flashed from a face whose plump contentment was framed in a jet black wig of an early Victorian design . * * * * * `` Why , if it ai n't Mrs. Lesengeld , '' Yetta exclaimed and the next moment she enfolded the little woman in a cordial embrace . `` You grown a _ bisschen _ fat , Yetta , '' Mrs. Lesengeld said .