eight o'clock
At eight o'clock in the inner vestibule of the Auditorium Theatre by the window of the box office , Laura Dearborn , her younger sister Page , and their aunt -- Aunt Wess ' -- were still waiting for the rest of the theatre-party to appear . A great , slow-moving press of men and women in evening dress filled the vestibule from one wall to another . A confused murmur of talk and the shuffling of many feet arose on all sides , while from time to time , when the outside and inside doors of the entrance chanced to be open simultaneously , a sudden draught of air gushed in , damp , glacial , and edged with the penetrating keenness of a Chicago evening at the end of February . The Italian Grand Opera Company gave one of the most popular pieces of its repertoire on that particular night , and the Cresslers had invited the two sisters and their aunt to share their box with them .