about twenty to
nine
Many of these letters , some of them in French or Norwegian , were a great puzzle to the boy . He sat on his stool nervously awaiting the arrival of his `` boss '' . He suffered tortures of shyness when , at half-past eight , the factory girls for upstairs trooped past him . Mr. Pappleworth arrived , chewing a chlorodyne gum , at about twenty to nine , when all the other men were at work . He was a thin , sallow man with a red nose , quick , staccato , and smartly but stiffly dressed . He was about thirty-six years old . There was something rather `` doggy '' , rather smart , rather ' cute and shrewd , and something warm , and something slightly contemptible about him .