a quarter to eight
`` Gone out , sir , '' the man answered . `` And not back yet ? It 's very late , '' said Eustace , looking at his watch . The time was a quarter to eight . They were dining at half-past . `` I wonder where she is , '' he thought . Then he sat down and gazed at a cartoon which represented a thin man with a preternaturally pale face , legs like sticks , and drooping hands full of toys -- himself .