nine o'clock
You might quite well have allowed me to finish my cigar . '' An attendant was passing . `` Oh , Monsieur Fauchery , '' she said familiarly , `` it wo n't begin for half an hour yet ! '' `` Then why do they advertise for nine o'clock ? '' muttered Hector , whose long thin face assumed an expression of vexation . `` Only this morning Clarisse , who 's in the piece , swore that they 'd begin at nine o'clock punctually . '' For a moment they remained silent and , looking upward , scanned the shadowy boxes .