Two o’clock
That story of your being expelled beats -- Might a common man make so bold as to inquire where the whitening machine is , Miss ? '' This was addressed to Jane , who had come up with some of the others . Agatha expected to see Smilash presently discovered , for his disguise now seemed transparent ; she wondered how the rest could be imposed on by it . Two o'clock , striking just then , reminded her of the impending interview with her guardian . A tremor shook her , and she felt a craving for some solitary hiding-place in which to await the summons . But it was a point of honor with her to appear perfectly indifferent to her trouble , so she stayed with the girls , laughing and chatting as they watched Smilash intently marking out the courts and setting up the nets . She made the others laugh too , for her hidden excitement , sharpened by irrepressible shootings of dread , stimulated her , and the romance of Smilash 's disguise gave her a sensation of dreaming .