eight
o'clock
And he resolved in his mind that he would be very early at the pit 's mouth . He would not be kept from his duty while a dissipated colleague collected his senses by the aid of soda-water . Mr. Manylodes was , at any rate , right in this , that that beverage , which men call bishop , is a doctored tipple ; and Alaric Tudor , when he woke in the morning , owned the truth . It had been arranged that certain denizens of the mine should meet the two Commissioners at the pit-mouth at eight o'clock , and it had been settled at dinner-time that breakfast should be on the table at seven , sharp . Half an hour 's quick driving would take them to the spot . At seven Mr. Fidus Neverbend , who had never yet been known to be untrue to an appointment by the fraction of a second , was standing over the breakfast-table alone . He was alone , but not on that account unhappy .