nine o'clock
`` Mrs. Cupp , '' sighed Nan . `` Nay , nay ! She is but the slave of the lamp , '' responded Laura , still in flowery fashion . `` The _ bete noire _ of the girls of Lakeview Hall is the half-past nine o'clock curfew . And I vow it shall not ring to-night ! '' `` Why wo n't it ? '' asked Nan , finally grown suspicious .