eight o'clock in the morning
Then she fell to work at her porridge with healthy enjoyment . She wore a blue serge skirt and a bright , red silk shirt , neatly belted by a strip of patent-leather . The once straggly locks were parted in the middle , and swathed round a little head which held itself jauntily aloft ; her eyes danced , her lips curved . It was a bare eight o'clock in the morning , a period when most people are languid and half-awake . But there was no languor about Pixie ; she looked intensely , brilliantly alive . A stream of vitality seemed to emanate from her little form and fill the whole room . The dog stirred on the rug and rose to his feet ; the canary hopped to a higher perch and began to sing ; Dick Victor felt an access of appetite , and helped himself to a second egg and more bacon .