quarter to nine o’clock
`` Risking too much ? '' said Davy . `` There 's only three of them . '' The first bell rang on the steamer ; it was quarter to nine o'clock . Willie Quarrie looked out at the window . The `` Snaefell '' was lying by the red pier in the harbor , getting up steam , and sending clouds of smoke over the old `` Imperial . '' Cars were rattling up the quay , passengers were making for the gangways , and already the decks , fore and aft , were thronged with people .