nine o'clock
To the untrained eye the collection of delicate originals made by the human finger on the glass plates looked about alike ; but when enlarged ten times they resembled the markings of a block of wood that has been sawed across the grain , and the dullest eye could detect at a glance , and at a distance of many feet , that no two of the patterns were alike . When Wilson had at last finished his tedious and difficult work , he arranged its results according to a plan in which a progressive order and sequence was a principal feature ; then he added to the batch several pantograph enlargements which he had made from time to time in bygone years . The night was spent and the day well advanced , now . By the time he had snatched a trifle of breakfast it was nine o'clock , and the court was ready to begin its sitting . He was in his place twelve minutes later with his `` records . '' Tom Driscoll caught a slight glimpse of the records , and nudged his nearest friend and said , with a wink , `` Pudd ` nhead 's got a rare eye to business -- thinks that as long as he ca n't win his case it 's at least a noble good chance to advertise his palace-window decorations without any expense . '' Wilson was informed that his witnesses had been delayed , but would arrive presently ; but he rose and said he should probably not have occasion to make use of their testimony .