twelve o'clock
Howard turned to a dictionary and showed him a paragraph . `` You will see I am right , '' he said , `` but do n't hesitate to object to anything I say -- these usages are tricky things ! '' The undergraduate smiled and nodded . Just before twelve o'clock he was left alone for five minutes , and a servant brought in a note . Howard opened it , and taking a sheet of paper , began to write . At the hour a youth appeared , of very boyish aspect , curly-haired , fresh-looking , ingenuous . Howard greeted him with a smile .