five
o'clock
Old Grannis had received his check . It was large enough , to be sure , but when all was over , he returned to his room and sat there sad and unoccupied , looking at the pattern in the carpet and counting the heads of the tacks in the zinc guard that was fastened to the wall behind his little stove . By and by he heard Miss Baker moving about . It was five o'clock , the time when she was accustomed to make her cup of tea and `` keep company '' with him on her side of the partition . Old Grannis drew up his chair to the wall near where he knew she was sitting . The minutes passed ; side by side , and separated by only a couple of inches of board , the two old people sat there together , while the afternoon grew darker . But for Old Grannis all was different that evening .