half past nine
The arrival of a servant with a broom suggested to her that she had better get out of the way of the household work . She felt half sorry for getting up , and went out on the lawn to recover her spirits . There she heard a man 's voice trolling a stave somewhere in the direction of the laboratory . Thinking that it might be Lord Carbury , and that , if so , he would probably not wait until half past nine to break his fast , she ran gaily off round the southwest corner of the Cottage to a terrace , from which there was access through a great double window , now wide open , to a lofty apartment roofed with glass . At a large table in the middle of the room sat a man with his back to the window . He had taken off his coat , and was bending over a small round block with little holes sunk into it . Each hole was furnished with a neat brass peg , topped with ebony ; and the man was lifting and replacing one of these pegs whilst he gravely watched the dial of an instrument that resembled a small clock .