nine
o'clock
True , there was one thing that set him apart ; he was found worthy of a superlative when he fell in love with Julia ; and of course this distinction caused him to become better known and more talked about than he had been in his earlier youth . However , the eccentricities of a person in such an extremity of love are seldom valued except as comedy , and even then with no warmth of heart for the comedian , but rather with an incredulous disdain ; so it is safe to say that under other circumstances , Noble might have been missing , indeed , and few of the Atwaters would have missed him . But as matters stood they worried a great deal about him , fearing that a rash act on his part might reflect notoriety upon themselves on account of their beautiful relative -- and _ The North End Daily Oriole _ . And when nine o'clock came and Mrs. Dill reported to Herbert 's father , over the telephone , that nothing had yet been heard of her son , the pressure of those who were blaming the _ Oriole _ more than they blamed Julia became so wearing that Herbert decided he would rather spend the remaining days of his life running away from Wallie Torbin than put in any more of such a dog 's evening as he _ was _ putting in . Thus he defined it . He made a confession ; that is to say , it was a proclamation . He proclaimed his innocence .