four o'clock
It was the fifteenth of April , and Toinette 's birthday . Many a climb had the expressman 's horse taken up the long hill leading to Sunny Bank that morning , for , if Toinette had but few friends , she certainly had a very generous father , who meant that she should have her full share of birthday remembrances , and they kept coming thick and fast all day . With each came a funny note to say that he was sending still another package because he did not want her to have all her surprises in a lump ; they would seem so much more if coming in installments . So they kept coming all day long , and by four o'clock her room looked like a fancy bazaar . Last of all to arrive was a large box upon which was printed in flaring scarlet letters : `` Not to be opened till it is ten A. M. in _ Bombay _ . '' The box stood in the hall when Miss Preston passed through the hall to dinner , and , unless suddenly stricken with ophthalmy , she could not fail to see the flaring notice . `` Ah , '' she said , softly , to herself , `` you have a triple mission , you inanimate bit of the carpenter 's skill : first , to teach my girls a lesson in longitude and time , second , to mutely ask my permission for a frolic to-night , and , third , to suggest that when birthdays arrive it would be a most auspicious time for the `` C. C. C. 's '' to hold their revels , and that Diogenes ' tub , if not himself , would be welcome , so I had better act upon the hint and contribute my share .