ten o'clock
They dined together and Ratcliffe took care to send for Tom Lord to amuse them , for Tom was a wit and a humourist , and kept the President in a laugh . Mr. Lord ordered the dinner and chose the wines . He could be coarse enough to suit even the President 's palate , and Ratcliffe was not behindhand . When the new Secretary went away at ten o'clock that night , his chief ; who was in high good humour with his dinner , his champagne , and his conversation , swore with some unnecessary granite oaths , that Ratcliffe was `` a clever fellow anyhow , '' and he was glad `` that job was fixed . '' The truth was that Ratcliffe had now precisely ten days before the new Cabinet could be set in motion , and in these ten days he must establish his authority over the President so firmly that nothing could shake it . He was diligent in good works . Very soon the court began to feel his hand .