a
quarter to nine
It will never do to be shaky and pale on the field , you know . '' I went , believing that I should be less in his way ; and , lying down in my clothes , fell into a heavy sleep , from which , after what seemed a long time , I woke suddenly with the conviction that it was just ten o'clock . To start up , look at my watch , find that it was only a quarter to seven and fall profoundly asleep again , was the work of only a few minutes . At the end of another half-hour I woke with the same dread , and with the same result ; and so on twice or thrice after , till at a quarter to nine I jumped up , plunged my head into a basin of cold water , and went back to the sitting-room . I found him lying forward upon the table , fast asleep , with his head resting on his hands . Some half-dozen letters lay folded and addressed beside him -- one directed to his wife . A little pile of burnt paper fluttered on the hearth .