eleven o'clock
The invitations were sent out before sunset , and straightway the young folks of the village were thrown into a fever of preparation and pleasurable anticipation . Tom 's excitement enabled him to keep awake until a pretty late hour , and he had good hopes of hearing Huck 's `` maow , '' and of having his treasure to astonish Becky and the picnickers with , next day ; but he was disappointed . No signal came that night . Morning came , eventually , and by ten or eleven o'clock a giddy and rollicking company were gathered at Judge Thatcher 's , and everything was ready for a start . It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence . The children were considered safe enough under the wings of a few young ladies of eighteen and a few young gentlemen of twenty-three or thereabouts . The old steam ferryboat was chartered for the occasion ; presently the gay throng filed up the main street laden with provision-baskets .