About eight o'clock
But , as old Bill Cronk had intimated , such a peck of oats was almost too much for Dennis , and he felt that he was in danger of becoming too highly elated . After closing the store , he wrote a brief but graphic letter to his mother , describing his promotion , and expressing much sympathy for poor Berder . Regarding himself as on the crest of prosperity 's wave , he felt a strong commiseration for every degree and condition of troubled humanity , and even could sigh over unlucky Berder 's deserved tribulations . About eight o'clock he started to see his new friends in De Koven Street , and take his lesson in drawing . They welcomed him warmly , for they evidently looked upon him as the one who might save them from the engulfing waves of misfortune and evil . The children were very different from the clamorous little wolves of the night before . No longer hungry , they were happy in the corner , with some rude playthings , talking and cooing together like a flock of young birds .