nine o'clock
He had no close friend , either young or old , but herself , Janice knew . `` Oh , if daddy were only home from Mexico ! '' was her unspoken thought , as she lifted the latch of the store door . There were no customers at this hour ; but it was Hopewell Drugg 's custom to keep the store open until nine o'clock every evening , and Saturday night until a much later hour . Every neighborhood store must do this to keep trade . `` I 'm so glad to see you , Janice , '' ` Rill proclaimed , without coming from behind the counter . `` You 'll stay ? ''