eight o'clock
`` I tell him , '' repeated the girl stolidly , without answering his question . Closing the hall door , she ushered him into the studio and left him standing there . Poons looked at his watch ; it was a quarter past seven . He still had fifteen minutes to spare before the concert engagement , which began at eight o'clock , called him to the Gewandhaus . While he was wondering what he could say to his friend , the servant opened the door leading to the living apartments of the family and intimated that he should come in . Poons passed through a magnificently furnished drawing-room and library , and thence into the dining-room . `` This way , '' said the girl , opening the dining-room door , beyond which was a passage leading to the kitchen and bedrooms .