nine o'clock
The unexpected appearance of the tent next morning took the inhabitants completely by surprise . No one could tell how it got there . Like a mushroom it came up overnight . The farm-hands on their way to work halted to look it over ; the oystermen and clammers on the way to their boats loitered near the spot to inspect it , and by nine o'clock most of the boys and girls within a mile of the place spread the news broadcast that there was an actors ' show in town . About ten o'clock the news had reached the dominie , and half an hour later he was in consultation with the leading lights of his congregation . The consensus of views induced them to call upon Mr. McGuiness . The tent was on his property , and he , they concluded , when appealed to would no doubt order the trespassers off .