about four o'clock
`` I shall not relinquish it , '' I replied , and I imagined his irritation from the way he hung up the receiver . I wrote the telegram down word for word , afraid to trust my memory , and decided to ask Doctor Stewart how soon Louise might be told the truth . The closing of the Traders ' Bank I considered unnecessary for her to know , but the death of her stepfather and stepbrother must be broken to her soon , or she might hear it in some unexpected and shocking manner . Doctor Stewart came about four o'clock , bringing his leather satchel into the house with a great deal of care , and opening it at the foot of the stairs to show me a dozen big yellow eggs nesting among the bottles . `` Real eggs , '' he said proudly . `` None of your anemic store eggs , but the real thing -- some of them still warm . Feel them !