Nine o'clock
How can I repay you for your kindness ? '' `` There may be a way . We will talk of that this evening . '' Nine o'clock found the three collected in the small room which had been hired by Ferguson for himself and Tom . `` My friend , '' said Ferguson , `` you told us that you found a favorable place for mining up in the Sierras . '' `` Yes , I ` struck it rich . ' '' `` I take it for granted that you did not exhaust the wealth of the place ? ''