three o'clock
`` Shall I ring up and say that you wo n't be able to come ? '' `` Yes , ring up , '' said Micky . He coloured self-consciously beneath the man 's stoic eyes and hurriedly buried his head again in the newspaper . At three o'clock he changed his clothes for an immaculate morning-coat and grey trousers ; then , remembering what Esther had said about the very horrid boarding-house , he changed them again for the oldest tweed suit in his possession , and a pair of brown boots that had seen their best days and long since been condemned by Driver . `` How in the world do I get to Brixton ? '' Micky asked the man when he was ready . `` I know I could take a taxicab , but I do n't want to .