six o'clock
Of the nineteen , four did not answer , three were temporarily disconnected , six replied in Yiddish , five were not the B. Cohen he sought , and one swore he was Irish and that his name was spelled Cohan and pronounced with an accent on both syllables . The B. Cohens resident in Berkeley , Oakland , Alameda , San Rafael , Sausalito , Mill Valley , San Mateo , Redwood City and Palo Alto were next telephoned to , and when this long and expensive task was done , Ex-Private Bill Peck emerged from the telephone booth wringing wet with perspiration and as irritable as a clucking hen . Once outside the hotel he raised his haggard face to heaven and dumbly queried of the Almighty what He meant by saving him from quick death on the field of honor only to condemn him to be talked to death by B. Cohens in civil life . It was now six o'clock . Suddenly Peck had an inspiration . Was the name spelled Cohen , Cohan , Cohn , Kohn or Coen ? `` If I have to take a Jewish census again tonight I 'll die , '' he told himself desperately , and went back to the art shop .