five o'clock
`` Very sorry . '' `` I will come in again before you close , if you do n't mind . '' `` Not at all ; come whenever you please . We are open until five o'clock here . '' Ralph left his name and then quitted the offices . He did not bother taking the elevator down , but used the winding stairs instead . He had reached the second floor , and was about to start down for the street when he caught sight of a man standing on the stone steps below .