twelve o'clock
Well , I reckon _ not _ ! '' `` Why , that 's the way we do , '' returned Nancy ; `` the lecture will be over early and then we 'll go up to the sitting-room and have our feed . '' `` Oh , that , '' said Sally May , `` is ridiculous and no fun at all . Why , at Knowlton Manor we always waited until twelve o'clock , at least , and had our feasts in the loveliest places . Once we had supper in the cellar , and the engineer caught us and we had a terrible time bribing him ; and last June , at Miss Gray 's school , five of us were caught in the teachers ' own sitting-room at three A.M. '' Her hearers looked horrified enough to satisfy even Sally May , who loved to tell a story , and she related one epic after another , until the York audience were convinced that life would not be worth living unless they too could recount similar tales when they went home for the Christmas vacation . Miss Marlowe and her rules were forgotten , and they laid their plans for a midnight supper . `` But Miss Marlowe knows that your box has arrived , '' objected practical Nancy .