nine o'clock
I were anxious to make him comfortable , God knows how anxious . And yet I 'd no notion how to cook a potato . I know 'd they were boiled , and I know 'd their skins were taken off , and that were all . So I tidyed my house in a rough kind o ' way , and then I looked at that very clock up yonder , '' pointing at one that hung against the wall , `` and I seed it were nine o'clock , so , thinks I , th ' potatoes shall be well boiled at any rate , and I gets 'em on th ' fire in a jiffy -LRB- that 's to say , as soon as I could peel 'em , which were a tough job at first -RRB- , and then I fell to unpacking my boxes ! and at twenty minutes past twelve he comes home , and I had th ' beef ready on th ' table , and I went to take the potatoes out o ' th ' pot ; but oh ! Mary , th ' water had boiled away , and they were all a nasty brown mass , as smelt through all the house . He said nought , and were very gentle ; but , oh , Mary , I cried so that afternoon .