nine
o'clock
`` Well , William , '' said Mr. Delamere , as he gave his hand to Miller from the armchair in which he was seated under the broad and stately portico , `` I did n't expect to see you out here . You 'll excuse my not rising , -- I 'm none too firm on my legs . Did you see anything of my man Sandy back there on the road ? He ought to have been here by nine o'clock , and it 's now one . Sandy is punctuality itself , and I do n't know how to account for his delay . '' Clearly there need be no time wasted in preliminaries . Mr. Delamere had gone directly to the subject in hand .