nine o'clock
He 's a regular hornet ! '' Whatever the private opinion of the Fifth might be on the subject of their examiner , they were obliged to hide their injured feelings under a cloak of absolute propriety . The reverend visitor was a solid fact , and all the grumbling in the world could not remove the incubus of his presence . At nine o'clock on Tuesday morning he would begin his inquisition , and the girls judged that there would be scant mercy for any sinner who failed to reach the required standard . A terrible atmosphere of gloomy convention pervaded the school . Miss Beasley was anxious for her pupils to appear at their very best before her scholarly brother , whose ideal of maidenly propriety was almost mediæval , and she kept a keen eye on their behaviour . Nobody dared to speak at meal-times , except a whispered request for such necessary articles as salt and butter ; laughter was out of the question , and even a smile was felt to be inappropriate .