nine o'clock
Now , for instance , Anna Belle Bardlock 's got a beau , they say '' -- here old Tom tilted back in his chair and turned an innocent eye upon a youth across the table , young William Todd , who was blushing over his griddle-cakes -- `` and I hear he 's a good deal scared of Anna Belle and not just what you might call brash with her . They say every Sunday night he 'll go up to Bardlocks ' and call on Anna Belle from half-past six till nine , and when he 's got into his chair he sets and looks at the floor and the crayon portraits till about seven ; then he opens his tremblin ' lips and says , ` Reckon Schofields ' must be on his way to the court-house by this time . ' And about an hour later , when Schofields ' hits four or five , he 'll speak up again , ` Say , I reckon he means eight . ' ` Long towards nine o'clock , they say he skews around in his chair and says , ` Wonder if he 'll strike before time or after , ' and Anna Belle answers out loud , ` I hope after , ' for politeness ; but in her soul she says , ` I pray before ' ; and then Schofields ' hits her up for eighteen or twenty , and Anna Belle 's company reaches for his hat . Three Sundays ago he turned around before he went out and said , ` Do you like apple-butter ? ' but never waited to find out . It 's the same programme every Sunday evening , and Jim Bardlock says Anna Belle 's so worn out you would n't hardly know her for the blithe creature she was last year -- the excitement 's be 'n too much for her ! ''