Three o'clock
After luncheon he went into the smoking-room and read through three leading articles with an occasional inkling of their meaning . At the end of the third he became convinced of the absurdity of trying to fix his attention upon anything , and smoked his next Havana with his eyes upon the toe of his boot , in profound meditation . An observant person might have noticed that he passed his hand once or twice lightly , mechanically , over the top of his head ; but even an observant person would hardly have connected the action with Mr. Cardiff 's latent idea that although his hair might be tinged in a damaging way there was still a good deal of it . Three o'clock found him standing at the club window with his hands in his pockets , and the firm-set lips of a man who has made up his mind , looking unseeingly into the street . At a quarter past he was driving to the station in a hansom , smiling at the rosette on the horse 's head , which happened to be a white one . `` There 's Cardiff , '' said a man who saw him taking his ticket . `` More than ever the _ joli garcon !