noon
Nor had he made the mistake of so being himself , despite the Big House and the magnificent scale on which it operated . Between the first and second gongs , all the guests drifted into the long dining room . Sharp after the second gong , Dick Forrest arrived and precipitated cocktails . And Graham impatiently waited the appearance of the woman who had worried his eyes since noon . He was prepared for all manner of disappointment . Too many gorgeous stripped athletes had he seen slouched into conventional garmenting , to expect too much of the marvelous creature in the white silken swimming suit when it should appear garbed as civilized women garb . He caught his breath with an imperceptible gasp when she entered .