about eight o'clock
It was clear an ' bright an ' peaceful when I looked up , but when I tried to look ahead it seemed misty an ' dark an ' gloomy , so I looked straight up for a long , long time ; an ' then when they soothed me , as they allus do , I went to bed an ' slept like a log . About three days after this , a slick lookin ' feller came ridin ' in about sun-down , an ' of course they booked him for supper an ' bed ; a stranger did n't want to expose himself to a meal at that outfit , less 'n he was in the mood to eat . He was a fine easy talker , an ' he had indoor hands too , an ' one o ' these smiles what is made to order ; what you might call a candidate 's smile -- a sort o ' lightin ' up in honor o ' the person bein ' addressed . Barbie had a bit of a headache , 'cause her cinch had broke that mornin ' while she was havin ' a little argument with a bad-actor ; an ' about eight o'clock she give us the fare-you-well an ' fluttered up to bed . So the four of us -- me , Dick , the stranger , an ' ol' Jabez -- sat there smokin ' seegars an ' tellin ' anecdotes . About nine Piker , which was the name the stranger had handed in , sez , `` Do you gentlemen ever indulge in a little friendly game ? '' Now Dick had never throwed a card in his life , to my knowin ' .