nine o'clock
said Mr. Bingle , as if the cost of the thing was the merest trifle to him . `` If I were to live for a thousand years , Tom , I could never find the means to adequately compensate you and Mary for the joy and comfort you have given me at so great a cost to yourselves . By dying , I may be able to make your load lighter , so I am going to die as quickly as the doctor will allow me to do so . '' He died at nine o'clock that night . The next day Mr. Bingle notified his three children that he was taking their father to Syracuse for burial , and that if they chose to do so they could come to the apartment late that afternoon for the brief funeral service . Geoffrey , speaking for his sisters as well as for himself , expressed regret that poor Tom had been saddled with certain annoyances and inconvenience in connection with the late Joseph Hooper , and that they , as a family , would be pleased to assume the cost of his funeral , provided Tom would present an itemized statement on his return from Syracuse , covering all legitimate expenses not only in connection with the funeral but also anything that may have arisen during his most recent illness . And Mr. Bingle , without consulting his wife , informed Geoffrey that he was quite able to meet all of the expenses without aid from `` the family '' and that he preferred to have nothing more said about the matter .