half past five
The young man took pains to get back before the old one did , which was well , for there should always be someone in a lawyer 's office to receive clients and keep dogs from being lonely . -LSB- Sidenote : Pangs of Hunger -RSB- The pangs of a devastating hunger assailed Fido , which was not strange , for it was long past the hour when the old man usually took a bulky parcel out of his desk , spread a newspaper upon the floor , and bade Fido eat of cold potatoes , meat , and bread . There was , nearly always , a nice , juicy bone to beguile the tedium of the afternoon . Fido and the old man seldom went home to supper before half past five , and Fido would have been famished were it not for the comfort of the bone . He sniffed around the larger of the two desks . A tempting odour came from a drawer far above . He stood on his hind legs and reached up as far as he could , but the drawer was closed .