one o'clock
He had asked to be taken home , for the tiny flat was a new possession , and as such dear to his heart . And to his home they carried him , and there he had lain already for longer than he cared to think . He had progressed to the point when he had been able to dismiss an excellent but uncongenial nurse , and manage with an hour 's assistance morning and night ; and what with reading the newspapers , smoking his pipe , and writing an occasional letter the first part of the day passed quickly enough . Lunch was served at one o'clock on a papier-mache tray spread with a crumpled tray cloth . It was a tepid , tasteless , unappetising meal , for the working housekeeper knew neither how to work nor to cook , and Pat invariably sent it away almost untasted ; yet every day he looked forward afresh to the advent of one o'clock and the appearance of the tray . It was something to happen , something to do , a change from the reading , of which he was already getting tired . But , after lunch , after he had wakened from the short siesta ; and realised that it was not yet three o'clock , and that six , seven hours still remained to be lived through before he could reasonably hope to settle for the night -- that was a dreary time indeed , and Pat , whose interests lay all outdoors , knew no means of lightening it .