about five minutes to
twelve
He was to get his mother to rub it in for him if he were too tired to do it himself . Bert promised to observe these directions , and , drying his tears , took his dinner basket and limped off to catch the tram . It was a few days after this that Hunter met with an accident . He was tearing off on his bicycle to one of the jobs about five minutes to twelve to see if he could catch anyone leaving off for dinner before the proper time , and while going down a rather steep hill the front brake broke -- the rubbers of the rear one were worn out and failed to act -- so Misery to save himself from being smashed against the railings of the houses at the bottom of the hill , threw himself off the machine , with the result that his head and face and hands were terribly cut and bruised . He was so badly knocked about that he had to remain at home for nearly three weeks , much to the delight of the men and the annoyance -- one might even say the indignation -- of Mr Rushton , who did not know enough about the work to make out estimates without assistance . There were several large jobs to be tendered for at the same time , so Rushton sent the specifications round to Hunter 's house for him to figure out the prices , and nearly all the time that Misery was at home he was sitting up in bed , swathed in bandages , trying to calculate the probable cost of these jobs . Rushton did not come to see him , but he sent Bert nearly every day , either with some specifications , or some accounts , or something of that sort , or with a note inquiring when Hunter thought he would be able to return to work .