six o'clock
When he had gone out to the curb to make an appointment for the evening with Steering , he had told himself that it was because the boy might as well have the chance as not have it , and , when he had gone back , he had known that , lie to himself about it as he might , it was because he was afraid for Sally Madeira , afraid that this Steering was about to mean something in her life , afraid that he , as the girl 's father , might bring some unhappiness upon her . All the long afternoon the thing continued to worry him ; added to the torment he was suffering from the burning letter in his vest-pocket , it was well-nigh unendurable . He had to work vehemently to make the time pass . Toward six o'clock , he began to realise that he had been shaping the time toward the evening 's appointment with Steering . As he got it shaped he grew more peaceful . He was arranging things so that he could win out with Steering . Little by little he came to accept the winning out as an assured thing , and in accepting it his grievance against Steering lightened , finally appearing to him as an easy thing to dispose of .