four o'clock
Seven-thirty the next morning found Johnny Gamble listening , in awed curiosity , to an insistent telephone bell . Gradually it dawned on him that he must have left a call , and plodding into the bath-room he mechanically turned on the cold water , reflecting dully that this was a cruel world . Suddenly it came to him with a rush that this thirty-first of May was to be the busiest of his life ! He had to have a million dollars before four o'clock ! At seven-forty-five he was out of his bath-tub . At eight he was gulping hot coffee . At eight-fifteen he was stepping out of the elevator with an apple core in his hand .