Nine o’clock
I have not been able to procure admission to the apartment occupied by the scientific gentlemen ; but , judging from the sounds which reached my ears when I stood upon the landing-place outside the door , just now , I should be disposed to say that the dog had retreated growling beneath some article of furniture , and was keeping the professors at bay . This conjecture is confirmed by the testimony of the ostler , who , after peeping through the keyhole , assures me that he distinctly saw Professor Nogo on his knees , holding forth a small bottle of prussic acid , to which the animal , who was crouched beneath an arm-chair , obstinately declined to smell . You can not imagine the feverish state of irritation we are in , lest the interests of science should be sacrificed to the prejudices of a brute creature , who is not endowed with sufficient sense to foresee the incalculable benefits which the whole human race may derive from so very slight a concession on his part . ' ` _ Nine o'clock _ . ` The dog 's tail and ears have been sent down-stairs to be washed ; from which circumstance we infer that the animal is no more . His forelegs have been delivered to the boots to be brushed , which strengthens the supposition . ' ` _ Half after ten _ .