nearly ten o'clock
He 'll regard that as a mere incident , a more or less humorous incident . '' `` He 'll be a queer sort of man if he does . '' `` And now , '' said Meldon , `` I must be off . It 's nearly ten o'clock , thanks to your lazy habit of not breakfasting till after nine . Fortunately , I 've still got Doyle 's bicycle . Not that it 's at all a dependable machine . The pedal will probably come off once at least on my way in .