nine o'clock
Sumter merely left a big basket filled with fruit , and a little note with friendliness , from Mrs. Sumter , then sprang into the curtained escort wagon , and was whisked away . Then came the storm , and then a Sunday and Monday in which no man went either way between the fort and town . And then a third , in which the gale went down , and the garrison first dug itself out , and then tunnelled in to the colonel 's , the adjutant 's office , and other submerged quarters , and on the morning of that third day Captain Sumter , in snow-covered furs , reported his return in person to his post commander , and explained that he had been storm-bound at the station in the meantime . It was then barely nine o'clock . Guard mounting , the first held since Saturday , was just over . The morning reports , the first rendered since Saturday , were just in , and the staff and company officers for the first time since Saturday were beginning to gather at headquarters and to compare notes . All had much to tell .