eight o'clock at night
Erebus in a pretty light frock of her mother 's days of prosperity , which had been cut down and fitted to her , was a sight to brighten any one 's eyes ; but the sleeves of the dark coat which the Terror wore on Sundays and on gala evenings , bared a length of wrist distressing to a mother 's eye . The fine high spirits of Captain Baster were somewhat dashed by his failure to find his keys and open his portmanteau , since he would be unable to ravish Mrs. Dangerfield 's eye that evening by his distinguished appearance in the unstained evening dress of an English gentleman . After a long hunt for the mislaid keys , in which the harried staff of The Plough took part , he made up his mind that he must appear before her , with all apologies , in the tweed suit he was wearing . It was a bitter thought , for in a tweed suit he could not really feel a conquering hero after eight o'clock at night . Then he put his foot into a dress-boot full of cold water . It was a good water-tight boot ; and it had faithfully retained all of the water its lining had not soaked up . The gallant officer said a good deal about its retentive properties to the mute boot .