seven in the morning
Then he asked if this cunning man dealt with the devil , declaring , in that case , he would keep clear of him ; for why ? because he must have sold himself to Old Scratch ; and , being a servant of the devil , how could he be a good subject to his majesty ? Mrs. Cook assured him , the conjurer was a good Christian ; and that he gained all his knowledge by conversing with the stars and planets . Thus satisfied , the two friends resolved to consult him as soon as it should be light ; and being directed to the place of his habitation , set out for it by seven in the morning . They found the house forsaken , and had already reached the end of the lane in their return , when they were accosted by an old woman , who gave them to understand , that if they had occasion for the advice of a fortune-teller , as she did suppose they had , from their stopping at the house where Dr. Grubble lived , she would conduct them to a person of much more eminence in that profession ; at the same time she informed them , that the said Grubble had been lately sent to Bridewell ; a circumstance which , with all his art , he had not been able to foresee . The captain , without any scruple , put himself and his companion under convoy of this beldame , who , through many windings and turnings , brought them to the door of a ruinous house , standing in a blind alley ; which door having opened with a key drawn from her pocket , she introduced them into a parlour , where they saw no other furniture than a naked bench , and some frightful figures on the bare walls , drawn or rather scrawled with charcoal . Here she left them locked in , until she should give the doctor notice of their arrival ; and they amused themselves with decyphering these characters and hieroglyphics .