ten in the
morning
But for one thing , it might have gone hard with an innocent man . Everything looked very black , but , as luck would have it , most fortunately for himself , Mr. Bladder could prove incontestably that upon the twenty-second of May his car never left its garage , for the very good reason that its engine was down . `` I shall call the defendant , and I shall call before you his chauffeur . Both will tell you in detail that the dismantling of the engine was commenced at ten in the morning , and that by half-past twelve -- a few minutes before the actual time of the accident -- the operation was completed . '' That the plaintiff had suffered an injury he did not attempt to deny . As a fellow-motorist , he had Mr. Bladder 's whole-hearted sympathy . His annoyance was justified , but he could not expect Mr. Bladder to pay the penalty for somebody else 's misdeeds .