ten o'clock
Uncle Ike 's voice , still sharp , spoke these farewell words : `` I forgot to tell you , Mr. Sawyer , that I always chloroform my chickens before I cut their heads off . '' He stepped back into the house . Swiss , with a bound , was in the room beside him , and when Quincy again turned his steps towards the road the closed door had shut them both from view . As usual , the next morning Hiram was down to the Pettengill house between nine and ten o'clock . He opened the kitchen door unobserved by Mandy and looked in at her . She was standing at the sink washing dishes and singing to herself . Suddenly Hiram gave a jump into the room and cried out in a loud voice , `` How are you , Mandy ? ''