ten minutes past six
Seventeen for three , with an hour all but five minutes to go , was getting too dangerous . So Drummond and Rigby , the next pair , proceeded to play with caution , and the collapse ceased . This was the state of the game at the point at which this chapter opened . Seventeen for three had become twenty-four for three , and the hands of the clock stood at ten minutes past six . Changes of bowling had been tried , but there seemed no chance of getting past the batsmen 's defence . They were playing all the good balls , and refused to hit at the bad . A quarter past six struck , and then Psmith made a suggestion which altered the game completely .