nine o’clock
Came as a matter of fact , to my door . I was in the library , reading , or trying to read , a rather abstruse book on psychic phenomena . My wife , I recall , had just asked me to change a banjo record for `` The End of a Pleasant Day , '' when the bell rang . In our modest establishment the maids retire early , and it is my custom , on those rare occasions when the bell rings after nine o'clock , to answer the door myself . To my surprise , it was Sperry , accompanied by two ladies , one of them heavily veiled . It was not until I had ushered them into the reception room and lighted the gas that I saw who they were . It was Elinor Wells , in deep mourning , and Clara , Mrs. Dane 's companion and secretary .