nearly nine
o'clock
`` I hope to goodness you wo n't overdo . '' Scott 's voice was unguarded . `` I 'll take care of her , '' said Mrs. Jim , telegraphing hundred-word messages as she carried William off ; while Jim gave Scott his orders for the coming campaign . It was very late - nearly nine o'clock . `` Jim , you 're a brute , '' said his wife , that night ; and the Head of the Famine chuckled . `` Not a bit of it , dear . I remember doing the first Jandiala Settlement for the sake of a girl in a crinoline , and she was slender , Lizzie .