nine o'clock
He had taken `` the Little Mother '' for a drive in the country , or perhaps he had gone to Petrograd -- who knew ? There was nobody to see but the Commissary -- on this fact they insisted with such vehemence that Malcolm gathered that whoever the gentleman was , he brooked no rivals and allowed no possible supplanter to stand near his throne . They came back at four o'clock in the afternoon , but the Commissary was still out . It was nine o'clock , after five inquiries , that the sentry replied `` Yes '' to the inevitable question . `` Now you will see him , '' said Malinkoff , `` and the future depends upon the potency of your favourite patron saint . '' Malcolm stopped in the doorway . `` General -- '' he said .