about three o'clock
`` I shall be killed soon if I stay here , '' he moaned ; `` I know I shall . These young brigands would murder me cheerfully , if they were not afraid of being caned for it . I 'm a miserable man , and I wish I was dead ! '' Although that afternoon , being Saturday , was a half-holiday , Mr. Bultitude was spared the ordeal of another game at football ; for a smart storm of rain and sleet coming on about three o'clock kept the school -- not altogether unwilling prisoners -- within doors for the day . The boys sat in their places in their schoolroom , amusing themselves after their several fashions -- some reading , some making libellous copies of drawings that took their fancy in the illustrated papers , some playing games ; others , too listless to play and too dull to find pleasure in the simplest books , filled up the time as well as they could by quarrelling and getting into various depths of hot water . Paul sat in a corner pretending to read a story relating the experiences of certain infants of phenomenal courage and coolness in the Arctic regions . They killed bears and tamed walruses all through the book ; but for the first time , perhaps , since their appearance in print their exploits fell flat .