nine o'clock
Don Luis being so absent-minded , seemed the only one not to perceive the situation , and chatted gaily with Gabriel about his hopes and his musical enthusiasms . Everything seemed to him quite natural ; nothing disturbed him , and the return of Sagrario to the family hearth had not caused him the slightest surprise . When dinner was over Esteban fled , not to return to the house till night-time ; after supper he locked himself into his own room , leaving his brother and his daughter in possession of the entrance sitting-room . The machine began to work again , and Don Luis fingered his harmonium till nine o'clock , when Silver Stick locked the tower staircase , rattling his bunch of keys with a noise that equalled a curfew . Gabriel felt indignant at his brother 's obstinacy . `` You will kill the child ; what you are doing is unworthy of a father . '' `` I can not help it , brother ; it is impossible for me to look at her .