seven o'clock
He had had his ticket since the morning , and now the time was going on . He went back to his hotel at last for ten minutes , and refreshed himself by dressing a little and by drinking a glass of wine . Then he took his way once more to the Music Hall , and saw that people were beginning to go in -- the first drops of the great stream , among whom there were many women . Since seven o'clock the minutes had moved fast -- before that they had dragged -- and now there was only half an hour . Ransom passed in with the others ; he knew just where his seat was ; he had chosen it , on reaching Boston , from the few that were left , with what he believed to be care . But now , as he stood beneath the far-away panelled roof , stretching above the line of little tongues of flame which marked its junction with the walls , he felt that this did n't matter much , since he certainly was not going to subside into his place . He was not one of the audience ; he was apart , unique , and had come on a business altogether special .