about three o'clock
And so we realized at length that , after all , the country was there before us ; that they had not asked us to come ; that we might as well do things the way they wanted . All this was sound physic for us . It made us , in the true sense of the word , cosmopolitan , made us broad in culture and stimulated that deep human sympathy and understanding which lay at the root of that impatience with which we awaited the story of our neighbour . I was typing a letter about three o'clock when I heard Mac 's quick step on the stairs and the opening of the door . It is his custom to take advantage of his view of the path from the studio window to forestall the postman , and I took no further notice until I heard the hum of conversation . And so I was the last to appear . He was standing in the middle of our room , his back to me , his Derby hat in his hand , looking curiously about the walls .