ten o'clock before
It was her southern , not her Teutonic , training probably that led to this . Whistler could not read German , and he did not know that any member of his party could do so . Nevertheless , he crumpled the bit of paper in his hand and thrust it into his pocket , biding his time until he could show it to Mr. MacMasters . It was ten o'clock before the stew was ready to be dished up . The aroma of it awakened the hungry men . `` This must be heaven , for it smells like mother 's cooking ! '' declared Slim .