ten minutes
before three
The sophomores had not been allowed to see the freshmen run at these trials . The start was to be made at three o'clock on this Monday afternoon . All the runners were now here , Reade and Dalzell having been among the last of the freshmen to come up . It was ten minutes before three . `` Half of the freshmen are a pretty mucky looking lot , are n't they ? '' asked Ripley , as he and Purcell , of the hares , strolled by . `` I had n't noticed it , '' replied Purcell pleasantly .