six o'clock
The pater would expect him to be top every day , whereas he had only just put on a spurt to show what he could do if he chose . Suppose he did lose the scholarship , it would n't be so bad after all , he could still play footer on Saturday afternoons ! The doctor 's glance had wandered , as if for consolation , to his elder son -- Miles the strenuous , the indefatigable , who had a passion for work for work 's sake . He was going through the practical stage of an engineer 's training , and left the house at six o'clock each morning , to return in the afternoon clad in workman 's clothes , incredibly greasy and dirty . Betty suffered agonies in case `` they '' -- that wonderful impersonal `` they '' who overclouded her life -- should think he was really and truly an ordinary workman ! On one occasion Miles had joined her on the doorstep as she was returning from an afternoon walk , and she had distinctly seen the curtains of the Pampered Pet 's drawing-room move , as if someone were peeping out from behind , when , as she confided to Jill later on , `` her cheeks turned k-r-rimson with mortification ! '' `` Well , Miles , my boy , did you take your little invention with you to - day , and were you able to show it to the manager ? ''