nine o'clock
You 'll like that , wo n't you ? '' `` Hi ! '' shouted Benny , throwing up his new straw hat , the sign and seal of pleasant summer weather , `` I 'd like to see the fellow that would n't ! '' At nine o'clock that morning -- at exactly nine o'clock -- Benny started . His mother remembered it well , for she looked up at the clock and said : `` Now , do n't hurry , Benny ; go along easily and you 'll get there before ten , '' for grandmother Potter 's was scarcely two miles back in the country , and Benny thought nothing of stepping over there , especially when inducements were offered . He called his dog Sandy , and marched off with a light step and a light heart ; but his hands remained at home , that is to say , his hands were nowhere so much at home as in his trousers pockets , and there they reposed , while Benny paced along , whistling `` Not for Joseph , not if I knows it , '' and Sandy nosing it all the way . His mother watched him with pride as usual ; the neighbors saw him go by and said , `` There goes Benny Briggs ; he hai n't broken his neck yet , but I presume to say that 'll be the next thing he does . ''