nine o'clock
`` Do n't matter , '' he muttered . `` I can manage just as well without him . '' And then he sat in the thick darkness , with his ears strained to catch the slightest noise , thinking over the Vicar 's visit that day , and about how he would like to catch Master Pete . It was very warm and comfortable inside the horse-cloth , and must have been close upon nine o'clock , but he had not heard it strike . David was breathing regularly , so loudly sometimes that Tom felt disposed to rouse him up ; but each time the breathing became easier , and he refrained . `` I do n't mind , '' thought Tom . `` I dare say he is very tired , and I do n't want to talk to him .