the hour of nine
He went out abruptly , and Helen Waldstricker cried herself to sleep . That evening Frederick Graves shook in his shoes when he returned home and received Waldstricker 's message to meet him in the library at nine o'clock . If there was one person in the world he did n't want to see just then , it was his dictatorial brother-in-law . He stood in his room considering the situation , when he heard the grandfather 's clock on the stairs slowly strike the hour of nine . `` Well , it wo n't help any to keep him waiting , '' he muttered . Unwillingly , he walked down the stairs to the library door . Pausing , he saw Ebenezer seated at the table reading the Bible .