nine o'clock
Be this as it may , as soon as Mr. Sublette had heard his caller 's version of the meeting upon the porch he lost no time in taking certain legal steps . That very night , on behalf of his client , denominated in the documents as Percival Dwyer , Esquire , he prepared a petition addressed to the circuit judge of the district , setting forth that , inasmuch as Paul Felix O'Day had by divers acts shown himself to be of unsound mind , now , therefore , came his nephew and next of kin praying that a committee or curator be appointed to take over the estate of the said Paul Felix O'Day , and administer the same in accordance with the orders of the court until such time as the said Paul Felix O'Day should recover his reason , or should pass from this life , and so forth and so on ; not to mention whereases in great number and aforesaids abounding throughout the text in the utmost profusion . On the following morning the papers were filed with Circuit Clerk Milam . That vigilant barrister , Mr. Sublette , brought them in person to the courthouse before nine o'clock , he having the interests of his client at heart and perhaps also visions of a large contingent fee in his mind . No retainer had been paid . The state of Mr. Dwyer 's finances -- or , rather , the absence of any finances -- had precluded the performance of that customary detail ; but to Mr. Sublette 's experienced mind the prospects of future increment seemed large . Accordingly he was all for prompt action .