eleven o'clock
One side does not keep another in the field the whole day in a one-day match except as a grisly kind of practical joke . And Mr. Downing and his house realised this . The house 's way of signifying its comprehension of the fact was to be cold and distant as far as the seniors were concerned , and abusive and pugnacious as regards the juniors . Young blood had been shed overnight , and more flowed during the eleven o'clock interval that morning to avenge the insult . Mr. Downing 's methods of retaliation would have to be , of necessity , more elusive ; but Mike did not doubt that in some way or other his form-master would endeavour to get a bit of his own back . As events turned out , he was perfectly right . When a master has got his knife into a boy , especially a master who allows himself to be influenced by his likes and dislikes , he is inclined to single him out in times of stress , and savage him as if he were the official representative of the evildoers .