About five P.M.
We had all the Adamses there that evenin ' , -- Pa Adams , a tall , dignified , white-whiskered old sport , who looked like he might have been quite a gay boy in his day ; Mother , a cheery , twinklin ' - eyed , rather chubby old girl ; and Veronica , all in white satin and dazzlin ' to look at . Also Sadie had asked in Miss Prescott , an old maid neighbor of ours , who 's so rich it hurts , but who 's as plain and simple as they come . She 's a fruit preservin ' specialist , and every fall her and Sadie gets real chummy over swappin ' cannin ' receipts . About five P.M. , though , Miss Prescott ` phones over her regrets , sayin ' how her nephew had arrived unexpected ; so of course she gets the word to bring Dudley Byron along with her . Emerson , his last name is , and while I had n't seen much of him lately we 'd been more or less friendly when he was takin ' special post-graduate work at some agricultural college and was around home durin ' vacations . An odd , quiet chap , Dudley Byron , who never figured much anywhere , -- one of the kind you can fill in with reckless and depend on not to make a break or get in the way . He 's a slim , sharp-faced young gent , with pale hair plastered down tight , and deep-set gray eyes that sort of wander around aimless .