nine o’clock
They sampled the whisky -- at a dollar a drink , weighed out on Curly 's scales ; and they discussed the news . And all would have been well , had not Curly Jim conceived a nefarious scheme , which was , namely , first to get Marcus O'Brien drunk , and next , to buy his mine from him . The first half of the scheme worked beautifully . It began in the early evening , and by nine o'clock O'Brien had reached the singing stage . He clung with one arm around Curly Jim 's neck , and even essayed the late lamented Ferguson 's song about the little birds . He considered he was quite safe in this , what of the fact that the only man in camp with artistic feelings was even then speeding down the Yukon on the breast of a five-mile current . But the second half of the scheme failed to connect .