ten o’clock
The extraordinary things Mr Tapley did with his own face when any of these detections occurred ; the sudden occasions he had to rub his eyes or his nose or his chin ; the look of wisdom with which he immediately plunged into the deepest thought , or became intensely interested in the habits and customs of the flies upon the ceiling , or the sparrows out of doors ; or the overwhelming politeness with which he endeavoured to hide his confusion by handing the muffin ; may not unreasonably be assumed to have exercised the utmost power of feature that even Martin Chuzzlewit the elder possessed . But he sat perfectly quiet and took his breakfast at his leisure , or made a show of doing so , for he scarcely ate or drank , and frequently lapsed into long intervals of musing . When he had finished , Mark sat down to his breakfast at the same table ; and Mr Chuzzlewit , quite silent still , walked up and down the room . Mark cleared away in due course , and set a chair out for him , in which , as the time drew on towards ten o'clock , he took his seat , leaning his hands upon his stick , and clenching them upon the handle , and resting his chin on them again . All his impatience and abstraction of manner had vanished now ; and as he sat there , looking , with his keen eyes , steadily towards the door , Mark could not help thinking what a firm , square , powerful face it was ; or exulting in the thought that Mr Pecksniff , after playing a pretty long game of bowls with its owner , seemed to be at last in a very fair way of coming in for a rubber or two . Mark 's uncertainty in respect of what was going to be done or said , and by whom to whom , would have excited him in itself . But knowing for a certainty besides , that young Martin was coming , and in a very few minutes must arrive , he found it by no means easy to remain quiet and silent .