nine
o'clock
If she wanted to do the sort of thing she was doing , that was her affair . Tillie and her middle-aged lover , Palmer Howe and Grace -- the alley was not unfamiliar with such relationships . It viewed them with tolerance until they were found out , when it raised its hands . True to his promise , Palmer wakened the sleeping boy before nine o'clock . Grace had eaten little and drunk nothing ; but Howe was slightly stimulated . `` Give her the ` once over , ' '' he told Johnny , `` and then go back and crawl into the rugs again . I 'll drive in . ''