ten o'clock
Which goes to show that a woman can put her finger into a political pie and draw it out without even a stain , while to touch that same confection ever so lightly would dye a man 's hand blood red . And as if in sympathy with the heart of the pursued possum , the thermometer began to fall in the afternoon and by night had established a clear , cold , windless condition of weather . The start for the Cliffs was to be made from the fork of the River Road , where cars , horses , traps and hampers were to be left with the servants , who by half past nine were already in an excited group around a blazing , dry oak fire , over which two score plump birds were ready to be roasted , attended by the autocratic Tempie . Jeff piled high with brush a huge log whose heart was being burned out for the baking of sundry potatoes , while the aroma from the barbecue pit was maddening to even a ten o'clock appetite , and no estimate could be made of what damage would be done after the midnight return from the trail of the wily tree fruit . David Kildare as usual was M.F.H. and his voice rang out as clearly against the tall pines , while he welcomed the cars and traps full of excited hunters , as if he had not been speaking in a crowded hall for an hour or two . Mrs. Cherry Lawrence arrived early , accompanied by the distinguished suffragist , who was as alert for sensations new as if she had been one of an exploration party into the heart of darkest Africa . They were attended by Tom and also the suave Hobson , who was all attentions but whose maneuvers in the direction of Caroline Darrah were pitiably fruitless .