nine o'clock
The taxes were onerous in the extreme . By means of a council that had been appointed , consisting of notabilities who had , either by fear or bribery , been brought over to the side of the French , a crushing taxation was imposed , and this rendered the trading and upper classes , upon whom the burden principally fell , as hostile to the French domination as were the lower classes . Thus the French themselves had , by their high-handed conduct and their absolute disregard for the feelings and religious sentiments of the people , prepared a mine that was on the point of exploding . That afternoon a messenger arrived from the sheik , saying that he should be at the Pyramids on the following morning , at nine o'clock , and that he wished them to meet him there . `` Would you take the men with us , Edgar ? '' `` No , I think it would be best to leave them . They are well established here now , and have come to be looked upon by those around them as having left the tribe altogether and as intending to work as carriers .