nine o'clock
She had a husband , and his name was Amariah . Doctor Prance had come back from supper and made her appearance in response to an invitation that Miss Birdseye 's relaxed voice had tinkled down to her from the hall over the banisters , with much repetition , to secure attention . She was a plain , spare young woman , with short hair and an eye-glass ; she looked about her with a kind of near-sighted deprecation , and seemed to hope that she should not be expected to generalise in any way , or supposed to have come up for any purpose more social than to see what Miss Birdseye wanted this time . By nine o'clock twenty other persons had arrived , and had placed themselves in the chairs that were ranged along the sides of the long , bald room , in which they ended by producing the similitude of an enormous street-car . The apartment contained little else but these chairs , many of which had a borrowed aspect , an implication of bare bedrooms in the upper regions ; a table or two with a discoloured marble top , a few books , and a collection of newspapers piled up in corners . Ransom could see for himself that the occasion was not crudely festive ; there was a want of convivial movement , and , among most of the visitors , even of mutual recognition . They sat there as if they were waiting for something ; they looked obliquely and silently at Mrs. Farrinder , and were plainly under the impression that , fortunately , they were not there to amuse themselves .