nine
o’clock
I had every reason to congratulate myself on the success of my party , so far . It remained to be seen whether Gorman would make a good speech and whether Tim 's ghosts would exhibit themselves satisfactorily . Between the speech and the ghosts my guests would have an opportunity of drinking tea and champagne cup , handed round by twelve nice looking girls wearing black and white dresses , hired out to me -LRB- both the girls and the dresses -RRB- for the evening by the firm which had undertaken to manage the refreshments . According to my time table , Gorman ought to have begun his speech at nine o'clock . Instead of doing so he came to me and whispered that he would give late-comers ten minutes law . `` Nothing more unpleasant for an audience , '' he said , `` than having their toes trodden on by people who come in late , just as they are beginning to get interested in what is going on . '' Nothing , I imagine , is more unpleasant for a speaker than to have his audience looking round to see who the newcomers are , just as he is beginning to warm to his subject .