six
o'clock
Night after night they dined out ; night after night they toyed with their forks , ate nothing , drank to hide their yawns , took black coffee and said they enjoyed the food tremendously . Graydon Bansemer was new to this attitude . He was vigorous and he was not surfeited with food ; he had an appetite . Just before six o'clock his host called him up by ` phone , and , in a most genial way , advised him to eat a hearty meal before coming up to dinner . Graydon made the mistake of not following this surprising bit of advice . He sat next to Mrs. Percival . She appeared agitated and uncertain .