eleven o'clock
`` Yes sir , I believe it is , '' was the reply . `` Well , knock off then for a little while , and come into the house and take a dram . '' Now Mr. Jones was a very moderate drinker himself , scarcely touching liquor for weeks at a time , unless in company . But he always kept it in the house , and always gave it to his workmen , as a matter of course , at eleven o'clock . Had he been aware of Braddock 's effort to reform himself , he would as soon have thought of offering him poison to drink as whiskey . But , knowing his habits , he concluded , naturally , that the grog was indispensable , and tendered it to him as he had always done before , on like occasions . `` I 've signed the pledge , '' were the words that instantly formed themselves in the mind of Braddock -- but were instantly set aside , as that reason for not drinking would not have been the true one .