nine o'clock
Two of them came , offering Nick some cakes and cheese ; but he was crying hard and would neither eat nor drink , though Carew urged him earnestly . Then Master Tom Heywood , with an ugly look at Carew , and without so much as an if-ye-please or a by-your-leave , led Nick up the brook to a spot where it had not been muddied by the horses , and made him wash his dusty face and hands in the cool water and dampen his hair , though he complied as if in a daze . And indeed Nick rode on through the long afternoon , clinging helplessly to the pommel of his saddle , sobbing bitterly until for very weariness he could no longer sob . It was after nine o'clock that night when they rode into Towcester , and all that was to be seen was a butcher 's boy carting garbage out of the town and whistling to keep his courage up . The watch had long since gone to sleep about the silent streets , but a dim light burned in the tap-room of the Old Brown Cow ; and there the players rested for the night . Nick awoke from a heavy , burning sleep , aching from head to foot . The master-player , up and dressed , stood by the window , scowling grimly out into the ashy dawn .