three o'clock
His marriage took place at the end of a month . The wedding presents were even more numerous and costly than usual , and included thirty-five yards of book muslin , ten pairs of gloves , a sponge , two gimlets , five jars of cold cream , a copy of the Clergy List , three hat-guards , a mariner 's compass , a box of drawing-pins , an egg-breaker , six blouses , and a cabman 's whistle . They were marked quite simply , `` From a Grateful Friend . '' It was three o'clock , and the afternoon sun reddened the western windows of one of the busiest of Government offices . In an airy room on the third floor Richard Dale was batting . Standing in front of the coal-box with the fire-shovel in his hands , he was a model of the strenuous young Englishman ; and as for the third time he turned the Government india-rubber neatly in the direction of square-leg , and so completed his fifty , the bowler could hardly repress a sigh of envious admiration . Even the reserved Matthews , who was too old for cricket , looked up a moment from his putting , and said , `` Well played , Dick ! ''