five in the afternoon
Mere conversational bubbles to be tossed in the air and disposed of in a burst of foam . Strong meat for old man Minick who had so long been fed on pap . But he soon got used to it . Between four and five in the afternoon , in a spot known as Under The Willows , the meeting took the form of a club -- an open forum . A certain group made up of Socialists , Free Thinkers , parlour anarchists , bolshevists , had for years drifted there for talk . Old man Minick learned high-sounding phrases . `` The Masters ... democracy ... toil of the many for the good of the few ... the ruling class ... free speech ... the People ... '' The strong-minded ones held forth .