a quarter past
eight
He watched until she was only a blue atom among the foot-passengers , until a park policeman thumped him on the shoulder and informed him that this was not an automobile stand . * * * * * When Dr. Blake woke next morning , it was with a sense of delicious expectancy . He formulated this as his eyes opened . She had promised to write ; the mail , due for distribution in the Club at a quarter past eight , might bring a note from her . He timed his dressing carefully , that he might arrive downstairs neither before nor after the moment of fulfilment or disappointment . He saw , as he crossed the corridor to his mail-box , that the clerk was just dropping a square , white envelope . He peered through the glass before he felt for his keys .