nine o'clock
It took Allen , who , besides being a very able and rising young lawyer , was also something of an electrician , about two minutes to find the flaw in the wiring and remedy it . Soon after that the first guests began to arrive . The rest of the evening was one brilliant panorama , that the girls never forgot . Until nine o'clock , the time set for the concert and sketch in the big tent , the guests , about two hundred in number , wandered happily about the lawn , watching `` Denton 's trained animals , '' which consisted of a little French poodle , an aristocratic yellow cat , and a gifted parrot , with an immense and varied vocabulary , perform . The animals were the undisputed property of this young Denton , who had grown up in Deepdale , and who , being a lover of animals , had untiringly trained his pets , until their fame had spread all over the town . He had a booth all to himself , and was having more fun than the spectators -- and that was saying a good deal , judging from the merry laughter and jests issuing from the tent . There were several other attractions , the favorite , after `` Denton 's trained animals , '' being the fortune-telling booth .