five in the afternoon
`` Let 's go to dinner , '' he said , little recking any chance meeting which might trouble his way . `` Certainly , '' said his companion . They visited one of the better restaurants for a social chat . It was five in the afternoon when they met ; it was seven-thirty before the last bone was picked . Drouet was just finishing a little incident he was relating , and his face was expanding into a smile , when Hurstwood 's eye caught his own . The latter had come in with several friends , and , seeing Drouet and some woman , not Carrie , drew his own conclusion . `` Ah , the rascal , '' he thought , and then , with a touch of righteous sympathy , `` that 's pretty hard on the little girl . ''