Six o'clock
And for want of something to do he wrote . First he wrote abstractedly and mechanically to John Barclay , then to Neal Ward -- a note for the _ Banner _ -- and as the twilight deepened in the room , he squared his chair to the table and wrote to Molly Brownwell ; that letter was the voice of his soul . That was real . Six o'clock struck . Half-past six clanged on the town clock , and as Jake Dolan opened the bank door , Hendricks heard the roar of the train crossing at the end of Main Street . `` There goes Johnnie 's private car , switching on the tail of her , '' said Dolan , standing in the doorway . Hendricks sent Dolan to a back room of the bank , and at seven-twenty went to the telephone .