nine o'clock
Perhaps it was just the protest of the exhausted body and the overwrought nerves . Usually , after that , she would sit up , haggardly , and take the hairpins out of her short thick hair , and announce her intention of going to bed . She always insisted that the children go too , though they often won an extra half hour by protesting and teasing . It was a good thing for them , these nine o'clock bed hours , for it gave them the tonic sleep that their young , high-strung natures demanded . `` Come , children , '' she would say , yawning . `` Oh , mother , please just let me finish this chapter ! '' `` How much ? ''