seven o’clock
Thinking of these things , I walked the quay for some minutes in a happy state of mind ; but by degrees I became impatient , and by degrees also disturbed in my spirit . I observed that one of the Arab boatmen walked round from the vessel to the front of the hotel , and that on his return he looked at me -- as I thought , not with courteous eyes . Then also I saw , or rather heard , some one in the verandah of the hotel above me , and was conscious that I was being viewed from thence . I walked and walked , and nobody came to me , and I perceived by my watch that it was seven o'clock . The noise , too , had come nearer and nearer , and I was now aware that wheels had been drawn up before the front door of the hotel , and that many voices were speaking there . It might be that Mahmoud should wait for some other friend , but why did he not send some one to inform me ? And then , as I made a sudden turn at the end of the quay , I caught sight of the retreating legs of the Austrian interpreter , and I became aware that he had been sent down , and had gone away , afraid to speak to me .