nine o’clock
The self-possession of that man had somehow induced a corresponding state in myself . It was very quietly that I remarked : `` You must be a good swimmer . '' `` Yes . I 've been in the water practically since nine o'clock . The question for me now is whether I am to let go this ladder and go on swimming till I sink from exhaustion , or -- to come on board here . '' I felt this was no mere formula of desperate speech , but a real alternative in the view of a strong soul . I should have gathered from this that he was young ; indeed , it is only the young who are ever confronted by such clear issues .