five
o'clock
He did not like to be singular . Besides , he might injure his popularity , and lose some of the influence he possessed , if he refused to join . The temptation was so strong that he could not at first resist it ; and though he did not positively promise to meet the others under the big oak , he gave them some encouragement that he would do so . The little time he had to think of the matter during the study and recreation hours did not enable him to arrive at a conclusion ; and at five o'clock , when school was dismissed , he was still halting between two opinions . When he left the school room , he fixed his mind upon the question , and began to discuss it in the most vigorous manner . He knew that any resistance to the authorities of the school was wrong . Colonel Brockridge had made the rule , and it was his duty to observe it .