four o'clock in the morning
Nature , that had seemed to stand jealously aloof from her in her mental anguish , was kind to the physical hurt of her favorite child . The superb physique , which had been her charm and her trial , now stood her in good stead . The healing balsam of the pine , the balm of resinous gums , and the rare medicaments of Sierran altitudes , touched her as it might have touched the wounded doe ; so that in two weeks she was able to walk about . And when , at the end of the month , Ridgeway returned from a flying visit to San Francisco , and jumped from the Wingdam coach at four o'clock in the morning , the Rose of Tuolumne , with the dewy petals of either cheek fresh as when first unfolded to his kiss , confronted him on the road . With a common instinct , their young feet both climbed the little hill now sacred to their thought . When they reached its summit , they were both , I think , a little disappointed . There is a fragrance in the unfolding of a passion , that escapes the perfect flower .