ten o'clock in the
morning
Previsioning this masterly _ apologium _ upon the first page of the morrow 's `` Clarion , '' -- or perhaps at the top of the editorial columns , -- its artificer thrilled with the combined pride of authorship and poetic justice . On the walls of the commodious room which had been set aside in the Surtaine mansion for the young master 's study hung a plaited dog-whip . The agent of just reprisals curled this neatly inside his overcoat pocket and set forth upon his errand . It was then ten o'clock in the morning . Now , in hunting the larger fauna of the North American continent with a dog-whip , it is advantageous to have some knowledge of the game 's habits . Mr. Harrington Surtaine 's first error lay in expecting to find the editorial staff of a morning newspaper on duty in the early forenoon . So much a sweeper , emerging from a pile of dust , communicated to him across a railing , further volunteering that three o'clock would be a well-chosen hour for return , as the boss would be less pressed upon by engagements then , perhaps , than at other hours .