seven o'clock
The electric train slowed down and stopped at the Hammersmith terminus , and there was the usual rush for the doors . `` Come on , Gertie , '' said a young man , `` here we are . '' The girl remained perfectly still with her face hidden . The crowd was enormous this Christmas Eve , and for the most part laden with parcels ; the platforms surged with folk , and each bookstall , blazing with lights -LRB- for it was after seven o'clock -RRB- , was a center of a kind of whirlpool . There was sensational news in the evening papers , and everyone was anxious to get at the full details of which the main facts were tantalizingly displayed on the posters . Everyone wanted to know exactly who were the people concerned and how it had all happened . It was a delightful tragedy for the Christmas festivities .