nearly nine o'clock
And what is more to the point , as they are singing , Mrs. Nesbit gives George Brotherton a look -- one of the genuine old Satterthwaite looks that speak volumes , and in effect it tells him that if he has any sense , he will take Henry Fenn home before he makes a fool of himself . And the eldest Miss Morton , swinging her legs under the piano stool and drumming away to Mrs. Nesbit 's one - and two - and three - and four-ands , peeps out of the corners of her eyes and sees Miss Müller gobbling Mr. Fenn right down without chewing him , and whoopee but Mrs. Nesbit is biting nails , and Mr. Brotherton , he ca n't hardly keep his face straight from laughing at all , and if Ruth and Martha ever tell she will never tell them another thing in the world . And she must n't forget to ask Mrs. Nesbit if she 's used the Peerless Cooker and if she has , will she please say something nice about it to Mrs. Ahab Wright , for Papa is so anxious to sell one to the Wrights ! It is nearly nine o'clock . Mr. Fenn has been eaten up these twenty times . The wandering eyes have caressed the bric-a-brac over and over . Mrs. Nesbit 's tireless index finger has marked the time while the great hands of the tall hall clock have crept around and halfway around again .