four
o'clock
Often she wearily dropped to the chairs and couches , or gazed from door and windows at the pictures they framed . `` I wonder why he does n't want me to go outside , '' she thought . `` I would n't be afraid in the least , with Bel . I 'd just love to go across to that wonderful little river of Singing Water and sit in the shade ; but I wo n't open the door until four o'clock , just as he wrote . '' When she thought of where he had gone , and why , the swift tears filled her eyes , but she forced them back and resolutely went to investigate the dining-room . Then for two hours she was a home builder , with a touch of that homing instinct found in the heart of every good woman . First , she looked where the Harvester had said the dishes were , and suddenly sat on the floor exulting .