nine o'clock
Of course as each hour went past they learned more and more . At eight o'clock it was known that Pupkin was not dead , but dangerously wounded in the lungs . At eight-thirty it was known that he was not shot in the lungs , but that the ball had traversed the pit of his stomach . At nine o'clock it was learned that the pit of Pupkin 's stomach was all right , but that the bullet had struck his right ear and carried it away . Finally it was learned that his ear had not exactly been carried away , that is , not precisely removed by the bullet , but that it had grazed Pupkin 's head in such a way that it had stunned him , and if it had been an inch or two more to the left it might have reached his brain . This , of course , was just as good as being killed from the point of view of public interest . Indeed , by nine o'clock Pupkin could be himself seen on the Main Street with a great bandage sideways on his head , pointing out the traces of the robber .