five minutes past ten o'clock
Since he was not a coward , the white feather concerned him not at all . Nevertheless , he was unable to dismiss his annoyance over the incident as completely as he wished , and he breakfasted without appetite . He was still disconsolate when he set out to keep his engagement in Central Park . At five minutes past ten o'clock , there approached the spot where Dick stood waiting in the Mall a very charming girl of scarcely twenty years of age , of medium height , with a pretty , plump form delightfully outlined by the lines of her walking dress . This was of a gray cloth , perfectly cut , but almost military in its severity . Her mouth was small and proud , her eyes gray and solemn , her color high from walking in the chilly air , and her hair of that nondescript brown usually described as fair . Uncommon , yet not sensational ; but with a delicate charm that radiated from her like perfume from a flower .