nine o'clock
We 'd sold out to Krupps and was goin ' to close ; we 'd tied up with Bethlehem ; we 'd underbid on a flock of submarines and was due for a receivership -- oh , a choice lot of piffle ! But a few of them nervous old boys , who was placid enough at annual meetin 's watchin ' a melon bein ' cut , just could n't stand the strain . Every time they got fed up on some new dope from the Wall Street panic peddlers , they 'd come around howlin ' for a safe and sane policy . I stood it until here the other mornin ' when a bunch of soreheads showed up before nine o'clock and proceeds to hold an indignation meetin ' in front of my desk . `` Gwan ! '' says I. `` Nobody 's rockin ' the boat but you . Go sit on your checkbooks . ''