eight o'clock
`` What I did to Slivers Martin , '' he told himself , `` I can do to the rest of them . There ai n't much difference between doin ' big things an ' little things , except that you 've got to be where there are big things to do an ' you 've got to _ know _ you can do 'em . '' Part II THE BOOK OF LIFE IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN It was eight o'clock , and the year as well as the day was in its morning . The watch which young Carl Bristoll drew from his pocket was very thin and exquisite , and he did not look at its face . Instead he touched a delicate spring with his finger-nail and listened to the tinkle of its low , silvery chime . This watch might have spoken the hour to a blind man as well as to eyes as clear and engaging as those of its present possessor .