nine o'clock
` Blanche is n't half a bad caterer , ' said Reg . ` I place myself in her hands unreservedly ; I will only venture to hint that I hope she has n't forgotten the chutnee , Tirhoot , and plenty of it . What 's the good of having a father who was shoulder to shoulder with Gough in the Punjab , if we are to run short of Indian condiments ? ' At nine o'clock the young people were all ready to start . The jaunting-car held five , including the driver ; Bessie and her friend were to occupy one side , Eva , the round child who loved pigs , was to have a seat , and a place was to be kept for Miss Rylance , who was to be invited to join the exploration party , much to the disgust of the Winchester lads , who denounced her as a stuck-up minx , and distinguished her with various other epithets of an abusive character selected from a vocabulary known only to Wyckhamists . Blanche and Horatio and a smaller boy , called Ernest , who was dressed like a gillie , and had all the wildness of a young Highlander , were to walk , with the occasional charity of a lift . The jaunting-car was drawn by a large white pony , fat and pampered , overfed with dainties from the children 's tables , and petted and played with until he had become almost human in his intelligence , and a match for his youthful masters in cunning and mischief .