five o’clock in the evening
Now Mr. Vincent had lost , and had actually paid to Mrs. Luttridge , the ready money which had been destined to discharge his debt to Mr. Percival : he expected fresh remittances from the West Indies in the course of a few weeks ; but , in the mean time , he must raise this money immediately : this he could only do by having recourse to Jews -- a desperate expedient . The Jew , to whom he applied , no sooner discovered that Mr. Vincent was under a necessity of having this sum before eight o'clock in the evening than he became exorbitant in his demands ; and the more impatient this unfortunate young man became , the more difficulties he raised . At last , a bargain was concluded between them , in which Vincent knew that he was grossly imposed upon ; but to this he submitted , for he had no alternative . The Jew promised to bring him ten thousand pounds at five o'clock in the evening , but it was half after seven before he made his appearance ; and then he was so dilatory and circumspect , in reading over and signing the bonds , and in completing the formalities of the transaction , that before the money was actually in Vincent 's possession , one of the waiters of the hotel knocked at the door to let him know that Mr. Percival was coming up stairs . Vincent hurried the Jew into an adjoining apartment , and bid him wait there , till he should come to finish the business . Though totally unsuspicious , Mr. Percival could not help being struck with the perturbation in which he found his young friend . Vincent immediately began to talk of the duel , and his friend was led to conclude that his anxiety arose from this affair .