About nine o'clock
There was no mistaking this rebuke ; even two cocktails were powerless to render Mrs. Poundstone oblivious to it . Shirley and her uncle saw the Mayor 's lady flush slightly ; they caught the glint of murder in His Honour 's eye ; and the keen intelligence of each warned them that closed cars should be a closed topic of conversation with the Poundstones . With the nicest tact in the world , Shirley adroitly changed the subject to some tailored shirt-waists she had observed in the window of a local dry-goods emporium that day , and Mrs. Poundstone subsided . About nine o'clock , Shirley , in response to a meaning glance from her relative , tactfully convoyed Mrs. Poundstone upstairs , leaving her uncle alone with his prey . Instantly Pennington got down to business . `` Well , '' he queried , apropos of nothing , `` what do you hear with reference to the Northern-California-Gregon Railroad ? '' `` Oh , the usual amount of wind , Colonel .