quarter past eleven o'clock
Sharlee 's theory of hospitality was that a guest was entitled to any type of conversation he had a mind to . Having dismissed her own troubles , she now proceeded to make herself as agreeable as she knew how ; and he has read these pages to little purpose who does not know that that was very agreeable indeed . West , at least , appeared to think so . He lingered , charmed , until quarter past eleven o'clock , at which hour Mrs. Weyland , in the room above , began to let the tongs and poker fall about with unmistakable significance ; and went out into the starlit night radiant with the certainty that his heart , after long wandering , had found its true mate at last . _ Sharlee 's Parlor on Another Evening ; how One Caller outsat Two , and why ; also , how Sharlee looked in her Mirror for a Long Time , and why . _ On the very night after West made his happy discovery , namely on the evening of February 24 , at about twenty minutes of nine , Sharlee Weyland 's door-bell rang , and Mr. Queed was shown into her parlor . His advent was a complete surprise to Sharlee .