ten o'clock
It was only his face that had made her wonder . His great back , bent to his task , was like another person there ; absorbed and unmoved , it chaperoned them . From time to time she heard brief scratches of his pen as he got a thought down . It was ten o'clock . When the half-hour struck Mr. Waddington gave a thick `` Ha ! '' of irritation and got up . `` It 's no use , '' he said .