eight o’clock
Sometimes , as a concession to this absurdity , he would set his table in the dining-room with his best dishes , and eat his silent meal very grandly , until the ridiculousness of it all would overcome him and he would jump up with a boyish whoop and sweep everything into the kitchen . But to-night he had no time for make-belief . Supper ended , he put a basin of water on the stove and went out to give his horses their evening attention , after which he had a wash and a careful shave and dressed himself in a light grey suit appropriate to an autumn evening . And then he noticed that he had just time to walk to Transley 's house before eight o'clock . Zen received him at the door ; the maid had gone to a neighbor 's , she said , and Wilson was in bed . It was still bright outside , but the sheltered living-room , to which she showed him , was wrapped in a soft twilight . `` Shall we have a lamp , or the fireplace ? ''