five o'clock
He was tired physically , worried mentally ; he had been brought from Paris at an awkward moment ; he was naturally devoted to his daughter ; he believed that Medenham was an unmitigated scamp and Simmonds his tool ; and his failure to solve Medenham 's arithmetical problem still rankled . These considerations , among others , may be pleaded in his behalf . But , if Simmonds , who had stood on Spion Kop , refused to be browbeaten by a British earl , he certainly would not grovel before an American plutocrat . He had endured a good deal since five o'clock that morning . He told his tale honestly and fully ; he even sympathized with a father 's distress , though assured in his own mind that it was wholly unwarranted ; he was genuinely sorry on hearing that Mr. Vanrenen had been searching the many hotels of Bristol for two hours before he came to the right one . But to be treated like a serf ? -- no , not if Simmonds knew it !