about nine o'clock
I had naturally thought first of Kennedy , but there was no time now to call him up and , besides , I must see Dodge immediately . Dodge , I discovered over the telephone , was not at home , nor at any of the clubs to which he belonged . Late though it was I concluded that he was at his office . No amount of persuasion could get me past the door , and , though I found out later and shall tell soon what was going on there , I determined , about nine o'clock , that the best way to get at Dodge was to go to his house on Fifth Avenue , if I had to camp on his front doorstep until morning . The harder I found the story to get , the more I wanted it . With some misgivings about being admitted , I rang the bell of the splendid , though not very modern , Dodge residence . An English butler , with a nose that must have been his fortune , opened the door and gravely informed me that Mr. Dodge was not at home , but was expected at any moment .