nine o'clock
Similar reports from various quarters were rife among the undergraduates , and were supposed to be traceable to competent authorities . Wednesday evening came , and next morning the result was to be made known . As certainty approached , and suspense was nearly terminated , Julian awaited his fate with sickening , almost with trembling anxiety . At nine o'clock he knew that the paper on which was written the name of the Clerkland scholar would be affixed to the senate-house door , but he did not venture to go and read it . He knew that , if he were successful , a hundred men would be eager to rush up to his rooms with the joyful intelligence ; if unsuccessful , he still trusted that he had one or two friends sufficiently sincere to put an end to his painful anxiety by telling him the news . Nine o'clock struck . Oh , for the sound of some footstep on the stairs !