about nine o'clock
The man presented it to his partner with a grandiloquent flourish , and returned thanks in a speech which sent the Northern visitors into spasms of delight at the quaintness of the darky dialect and the darky wit . To cap the climax , the winner danced a buck dance with a skill and agility that brought a shower of complimentary silver , which he gathered up and passed to the head waiter . Ellis was off duty for the evening . Not having ventured to put in an appearance at Carteret 's since his last rebuff , he found himself burdened with a superfluity of leisure , from which he essayed to find relief by dropping into the hotel office at about nine o'clock . He was invited up to see the cakewalk , which he rather enjoyed , for there was some graceful dancing and posturing . But the grotesque contortions of one participant had struck him as somewhat overdone , even for the comical type of negro . He recognized the fellow , after a few minutes ' scrutiny , as the body-servant of old Mr. Delamere .