four o'clock
Now , he always takes his walk in bad weather in the great Saal below ; should he not make his appearance there to-day , as he has already absented himself for some days , I 'll call to inquire after him at his own house . You 'll accompany me . The rest we 'll leave to fortune . '' Although On slow could not see that this step could lead to anything beyond a civil reply to a civil demand , he assented readily , and promised to meet his companion at four o'clock the same evening . As for Jekyl , he took a very different view of the whole transaction , for he knew that while to him there might be considerable difficulty in establishing any footing with the Daltons , the son of the wealthy baronet would be , in all likelihood , very differently looked on . In presenting him , thought he , I shall have become the friend of the family at once . It had often before been his fortune in life to have made valuable acquaintances in this manner ; and although the poor Daltons were very unlikely to figure in the category of profitable friends , they would at least afford an agreeable resource against the dulness of wintry evenings , and prevent what he himself called the `` demoralization '' of absence from female society .