seven o'clock
He was off down the hall again with his light , quick step that still had the appearance of leisureliness . The telephone at Sadie 's right buzzed warningly . Sadie picked up the receiver and plunged into the busiest half hour of the evening . From that moment until seven o'clock her nimble fingers and eyes and brain and tongue directed the steps of her little world . She held the telephone receiver at one ear and listened to the demands of incoming and outgoing guests with the other . She jotted down reports , dealt out mail and room-keys , kept her neuralgic eye on stairs and elevators and halls , her sound orb on tube and pantry signals , while through and between and above all she guided the stream of humanity that trickled past her desk -- bellhops , Polish chambermaids , messenger boys , guests , waiters , parlour maids . Just before seven there disembarked at floor two out of the cream-and-gold elevator one of those visions that have helped to make Fifth Avenue a street of the worst-dressed women in the world .