about five o'clock
in the afternoon
But I 'm thinkin ' ye wadna be the worse for a jug of milk to wash down your dinner , and there 's some strawberries in the garden up by , just about ripe . '' So they all went up to the farm kitchen and had a glorious tuck in , and were afterwards turned loose among the strawberries , while the farmer watched them with keen delight and a remembrance of past days . Whose place in heaven for such deeds of charity is already secure . The authorities at home were not so lenient , and the experienced truant was careful , when he could , to time his arrival home about five o'clock in the afternoon , which allowed for the school hours and one hour more of special confinement . According to the truant 's code he was not allowed to tell a lie about his escapade , either at home or at school , but he was not obliged to offer a full and detailed statement of the truth . If his father charged him with being kept in at school for not having done his work , and rebuked him for his laziness , he allowed it to go at that , and did not accuse his father of inaccuracy . When , however , a boy was by habit and repute a truant , his father learned by experience and was apt to watch him narrowly .