nine o'clock
To test his condition further he took note of the fine mass of the great dry-goods store on the hither corner , blocking itself out of the blue-black night , and of the Gothic beauty of the church beyond , so near that the coffle of captives might have issued from its sculptured portal , after vain prayer . Fragments of conjecture , of speculation , drifted through his mind . How early did these files begin to form themselves for the midnight dole of bread ? As early as ten , as nine o'clock ? If so , did the fact argue habitual destitution , or merely habitual leisure ? Did the slaves in the coffle make acquaintance , or remain strangers to one another , though they were closely neighbored night after night by their misery ? Perhaps they joked away the weary hours of waiting ; they must have their jokes .