seven o’clock
`` I was ripping about the ego , '' said Bertie . `` I was rather splendid myself , '' said Billy , `` when I got going . And I gave him a huge steer about memory . '' After lunch both retired to their beds and fell into sweet oblivion until seven o'clock , when they rose and dined , and after playing a little poker went to bed again pretty early . Some six mornings later , when the Professor returned their papers to them , their minds were washed almost as clear of Plato and Thales as were their bodies of yesterday 's dust . The dates and doctrines , hastily memorized to rattle off upon the great occasion , lay only upon the surface of their minds , and after use they quickly evaporated . To their pleasure and most genuine astonishment , the Professor paid them high compliments .