nine o'clock
***** That night , after putting her mother to bed , she pinned a shawl over her head , threw her mother 's cloak about her shoulders , sneaked into Maria 's house , and crept up into her friend 's room like a burglar . What was to be done must be done quickly , but intelligently . `` I 've got some money , '' she exclaimed to the astonished girl who , half undressed , sat writing at her table . -LRB- It was after nine o'clock -- an unheard-of hour for visiting . -RRB- `` How much stock can I buy for two hundred dollars ? '' and she shook out the check , keeping her finger over the signature . `` Twenty shares , '' answered Maria .