nine o'clock
We 're bad off as it is , without lawing about it . '' Then at last came the sale . McTeague and Trina , whom Miss Baker had invited to her room for that day , sat there side by side , holding each other 's hands , listening nervously to the turmoil that rose to them from the direction of their suite . From nine o'clock till dark the crowds came and went . All Polk Street seemed to have invaded the suite , lured on by the red flag that waved from the front windows . It was a fete , a veritable holiday , for the whole neighborhood . People with no thought of buying presented themselves .