Ten o'clock
A long silence followed , unrelieved by any word between father and daughter , -- a silence so profound that the heart of the old-fashioned time-piece , throbbing monotonously in its dusky case at the foot of the stairs , made itself audible through the room . Mr. Slocum 's gaze continued fixed on the newspaper which he was not reading . Margaret 's hands lay crossed over the work on her lap . Ten o'clock . `` What can have kept him ? '' murmured Margaret . `` There was only that way out of it , '' reflected Mr. Slocum , pursuing his own line of thought .