10 o'clock
Familiarity had robbed the fact of some of its surprisingness , but there remained a substratum of wonder , not removed even by the sight of his betrothed 's photograph and the information that she was a distant relative who had been brought up with him from infancy . The features and the explanation between them rescued Smugg from the incongruity of a romance , but we united in the opinion that the lady was ill-advised in preferring Smugg to solitude . Still , for all that he was a ridiculous creature , she did , and hence it happened that Smugg , desiring to form a furnishing fund , organized a reading party , which Gayford , Tritton , Bird , and I at once joined . Every morning at nine Smugg , his breakfast finished , cleared his corner of the table , opened his books , and assumed an expectant air ; so Mary the maid told us ; we were never there ourselves ; we breakfasted at 9.30 or 10 o'clock , and only about 11 did we clear our corners , light our pipes , open our books , and discuss the prospects of the day . As we discussed them , Smugg construed in a gentle bleat ; what he construed or why he construed it -LRB- seeing that nobody heeded him -RRB- was a mystery ; the whole performance was simply a tribute to Smugg 's conscience , and , as such , was received with good-natured , scornful toleration . Suddenly a change came . One morning there was no Smugg !