eleven o'clock
It had been a mild fall , with a late Indian summer , and only one or two snow flurries that had lasted but a few hours . This was unusual for Oakdale , as winter generally came with a rush before the middle of November , and treated the inhabitants of that northern city to a taste of zero weather long before the Christmas holidays . It was with a light heart that Grace Harlowe ate her breakfast and flitted about the house , putting a final touch here and there before receiving her guests . Before eleven o'clock everything was finished , and as she arranged the last flower in its vase she felt a little thrill of pride as she looked about the pretty drawing room . Before going upstairs to dress , she ran into the reception hall for the fourth time to feast her eyes upon a huge bunch of tall chrysanthemums in the beautiful Japanese vase that stood in the alcove under the stairs . They had come about an hour before with a note from Tom Gray saying that he had arrived in Oakdale that morning , had seen the boys and would be around to help David and Reddy at the `` girl convention , '' as he termed it . Grace was overjoyed at the idea of seeing Tom Gray again .