about eleven o'clock Monday morning
The Renfrew House was a very modest hostelry in South Hill Street . Hiram stopped there because the establishment was in Hill Street , and he believed in omens . Incidentally , too , he preferred the Renfrew to the Alexandria or the Hayward because the rates on the American plan were two dollars a day . It was about eleven o'clock Monday morning when Clancy entered the lobby of the Renfrew House . The lobby was crowded , bell hops were hustling back and forth , and the place was as busy as a high-class establishment . Clancy stood at the counter , caught the clerk 's eye , and asked for Hiram Hill . The clerk , who had curly hair , and parted it squarely in the middle , forthwith gave the newcomer his full and complete attention .