six
o'clock
`` I 've been wishing and wishing for ever so long that I had a cousin , and it will be lovelicious if you should turn out to be one . '' With earnest good-byes the new friends separated , and from the shelter of the piazza Polly answered the salute of the little hand at the limousine window as long as she could see it . There was no holding back this time . The story of the day , or the portion of it occupied by Patricia Illingworth , was related in detail , both in Mrs. Dudley 's room before tea and at the table afterwards , as the Doctor was kept busy at the hospital until six o'clock . They were through with the meal , and Polly was helping her mother carry the dishes into the kitchen , when the telephone called the physician from the room . In a moment he was back . `` Your new friend is holding the wire for you , '' he told Polly .