twelve o'clock
For spelling ` lamb ' without the final b , Ivy Nancarrow underwent the punishment invariably meted out for such errors -- mounted the dunce 's bench , and wore the dunce 's cap ; nor did ` Thaniel Langmaid 's knuckles escape the ruler when he dropped a blot upon his copy , ` Comparisons are Odious ' -- a proposition of which he understood the meaning not at all . The cane and the birch-rod on Mrs. Butson 's desk served her now but as insignia . She had not wielded them as weapons of justice since the day -LRB- four years ago -RRB- when a struggle with Ivy Nancarrow 's elder brother had taught her that her natural strength was abating . At twelve o'clock she told the children to close their books , dismissed them to play , and sat down to await the invited company . Mr. Toy was the first to arrive . He came straight from the jetties -- that is to say , as straight as a stevedore can be expected to come at noon on Saturday , after receiving his week 's pay . He wore his accustomed mask of clay-dust , and smelt powerfully of beer , two pints of which he had consumed in an unsocial hurry at the Ferry Inn on his way .