nine o'clock
And , raising her voice : `` Scott , you silly ninny ! Where in the world are you ? '' Scott appeared with alacrity from the library , evidently detained there in hunger and impatience by Kathleen , who came in a moment later , pretty eyes innocently perplexed . `` I declare , '' she said , `` it is nine o'clock and dinner is supposed to be served at eight ! '' And she seemed more surprised than ever when old Howker , who evidently had been listening off stage , entered with reproachful dignity and announced that ceremony . And it was the gayest kind of a ceremony , for they ate and chattered and laughed there together as inconsequentially as four children , and when Howker , with pomp and circumstance , brought in a roast boar 's head garnished with holly-like crimson elder , they all stood up and cheered as though they really liked the idea of eating it . However , there was , from the same animal , a saddle to follow the jowl , which everybody tasted and only Scott really liked ; and , to Duane 's uneasy surprise , great silver tankards of delicious home-brewed ale were set at every cover except Geraldine 's .