half past twelve
He averred that he had been watching Crass and Sweater and had seen the latter put his thumb and finger into his waistcoat pocket as he walked into the dining-room , followed by Crass . It took the latter a long time to convince his two workmates of the truth of his own account , but he succeeded at last , and they all three agreed that Old Sweater was a sanguinary rotter , and they lamented over the decay of the good old-fashioned customs . ` Why , at one time o ' day , ' said Crass , ` only a few years ago , if you went to a gentleman 's ` ouse to paint one or two rooms you could always be sure of a bob or two when you 'd finished . ' By half past twelve everything was squared up , and , having loaded up the hand-cart with all that remained of the materials , dirty paint-pots and plant , they all set out together for the yard , to put all the things away before going to the office for their money . Sawkins took the handle of the cart , Slyme and Crass walked at one side and Owen and Bert at the other . There was no need to push , for the road was downhill most of the way ; so much so that they had all to help to hold back the cart , which travelled so rapidly that Bert found it difficult to keep pace with the others and frequently broke into a trot to recover lost ground , and Crass -- being fleshy and bloated with beer , besides being unused to much exertion -- began to perspire and soon appealed to the others not to let it go so fast -- there was no need to get done before one o'clock . The March of the Imperialists It was an unusually fine day for the time of year , and as they passed along the Grand Parade -- which faced due south -- they felt quite warm .