eight o'clock
`` Certainly , sir . '' He gave me his number in Brattle Street ... . Like one running in a nightmare and making no progress I made my way home , only to learn from Hallam , -- who lived on the same floor , -- that Tom had inconsiderately gone to Boston for the evening , with four other weary spirits in search of relaxation ! Avoiding our club table , I took what little nourishment I could at a modest restaurant , and restlessly paced the moonlit streets until eight o'clock , when I found myself in front of one of those low-gabled colonial houses which , on less soul-shaking occasions , had exercised a great charm on my imagination . My hand hung for an instant over the bell ... . I must have rung it violently , for there appeared almost immediately an old lady in a lace cap , who greeted me with gentle courtesy , and knocked at a little door with glistening panels . The latch was lifted by Mr. Cheyne himself .