About ten o'clock
No one could tell how it got there . Like a mushroom it came up overnight . The farm-hands on their way to work halted to look it over ; the oystermen and clammers on the way to their boats loitered near the spot to inspect it , and by nine o'clock most of the boys and girls within a mile of the place spread the news broadcast that there was an actors ' show in town . About ten o'clock the news had reached the dominie , and half an hour later he was in consultation with the leading lights of his congregation . The consensus of views induced them to call upon Mr. McGuiness . The tent was on his property , and he , they concluded , when appealed to would no doubt order the trespassers off . They considered it an abomination , from their standpoint , for him to permit show-actors to offer an entertainment , and more especially on the last day of the church fair , when a numerous gathering was expected .