about a quarter to three
It was understood that Nestie 's mother was dead and that his father was the Baptist minister of Muirtown -- a denomination whose adherents were few and whose practices were vaguely associated with the mill lade -- and for two years before he appeared at school Nestie and his father were quite familiar to the boys . Nestie began his education at a ladies ' school , not far from the Seminary , where he was much petted by the big girls , and his father could be seen waiting for him every afternoon at dismissal time . A gentle , timid little man , apt to blush on being spoken to , with a hesitating speech and a suggestion of lasting sorrow in his eyes , Mr. Molyneux would sooner have faced a cannon than Miss Letitia MacMuldrow 's bevy of young women , and it was a simple fact that when , meditating his sermon one day in the North Meadow , he flopped into their midst and his son insisted on introducing him to the boarders and to Miss Letitia , the poor man went home to bed and left the pulpit next Sunday to an amateur exhorter . His plan of campaign was to arrive on the opposite side of the terrace about a quarter to three , and , as the hour drew near , reconnoitre the door from behind a clump of bushes at the foot of the garden . Nestie usually made his appearance with a bodyguard of maidens , who kissed him shamelessly , and then , catching sight of the anxious face peeping through the laburnums , he would dash down the walk and , giving his slaves a last wave , disappear round the corner . The minister used to take a hasty survey lest they should become a sport to the barbarians in a land where for a father to kiss his boy was synonymous with mental incapacity , and then -- it was a cat of a girl who oversaw the meeting -- they hugged one another for the space of a whole minute , in which time it is wonderful what can be done if your heart is in it and your hat is allowed to go without care . Had a Seminary boy seen the sight -- but the savages were caged at that hour -- his feet would have been glued to the ground with amazement , and he had gone away full of silent gratitude that Providence had cast his lot north of the Tweed ; but of course he had not reckoned that the father and son had been separated for , say , six whole hours -- or almost -- and it was necessary to re-establish relations .