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 . I 've never done as good a piece of work since .