ten o'clock
`` It 's agreed then ? '' asked Mr. Dinwiddie , veiling his hope that it was not . But the assent was general . They were all as excited over the prospect of a picnic as if they were slum children about to enjoy their first charitable outing , and it was settled that they were to start at ten o'clock . Mrs. Minor and Miss Gold went into the kitchen to help Mrs. Larsing make sandwiches and salads , and the others ran down to the lake . Clavering had tied the boat to a tree in a little inlet far down the lake , and they were walking through a wood of spruce trees and balsam . There was no leafy curtain here , although they could see one swaying on either side through open vistas between the rigid columns of the spruce .