nine
o'clock
`` It has been raining very hard , '' replied the squire , casting an anxious glance at me . `` What made you so late ? '' asked the captain . `` I expected you by nine o'clock . '' `` I had some friends with me who were on the way to New Orleans , and I waited to see them off , '' answered the senator , with a shudder -- not at the thought of his friends , perhaps , but on account of the chill which pervaded his frame . `` You 'll catch your death a cold , Moses , '' interposed Mrs. Fishley . `` I think you 'd better take something , to guard against the chills . ''