About three o'clock in the afternoon
He had followed the rule since she came to the house not to make any open inquiries about her health , but from words dropped by Ezekiel and Uncle Ike , he had kept fairly well informed as to the result of her treatment . At dinner Ezekiel remarked that his sister had commenced to take her new medicine , and that he reckoned it must be purty powerful , for she had said that she did n't wish anything to eat , and did n't want anything sent to her room . Quincy politely expressed his regrets at her indisposition and trusted that she would soon be able to join them again at meal time . About three o'clock in the afternoon , Samuel Hill and his father arrived , and Hiram , remembering Quincy 's instructions , had found Ezekiel Pettengill , and all came to the room together . It took a comparatively short time to sign , seal , and deliver the documents and papers . It was arranged that Samuel Hill and his father should take charge of the grocery store and carry on the business until a week from the following Monday ; as Quincy told young Hill that he had some business to attend to the early part of the following week that would prevent his giving any attention to the store until the latter part of the week . Quincy treated his principals and witnesses to cigars , and an interchange of ideas was made in relation to the result of the auction sale .