ten minutes before one
That you ca n't see it is all a question of language . Every village is full of bored Americans with nothing to do , and never one of them buys a dictionary ! '' `` If it 's villages you speak of , ma'am , it is n't dictionaries is needed , '' he answered , '' 't is plumbing ! '' She had not left him ten minutes before one of her tyres punctured . `` Alas ! I could have found a better use for them than arguing , '' she thought ruefully , regretting the friendly Americans , as she changed the tyre by the roadside under the beam from her own lamps . When it was done she sat for a few minutes in the silent car .