three o'clock
This , it seemed to him , was about to happen to him again , now when it was too late in his life to do anything but despair . He called the waiter , paid his bill and tip , -- he was an extremely liberal tipper ; `` it 's expected of us , '' he used to say , meaning that it was expected of people like the New York Lanleys , -- and went away . In old times he had been an inventor of many clever tricks for getting up-town by unpopular elevated trains and horse-cars that avoided the crowd , but the subway was a great leveler , and he knew no magic except to take a local in rush hours . At three o'clock , however , even this was not necessary . He took an express , and got off at the Grand Central , turned up Park Avenue , and then east . He had just found out that he was going to visit Mrs. Wayne . He read the names in the vestibule , never doubting that Dr. Parret was a masculine practitioner , and hesitated at the name of Wayne .