nine o'clock
Otto 's eyes sparkled when Jack Carleton leaped to his feet and declared he would go with him on the search for the lost horse -LRB- subject , of course , to the consent of his mother -RRB- , and the German youth looked pleadingly toward the good woman , who , it is hardly necessary to say , yielded consent , giving with it a large amount of motherly counsel , to which the boys listened respectfully , though candor compels me to say that the thoughts of both were far away among the green woods , beside the sparkling streams , and in the shadows of the chasms , ravines , and gloomy mountains , whither , as they well knew , the curious search would lead them . One of the commendable habits of the early settlers and old-fashioned folks was that of retiring and rising early . They were ardent believers in the saying of Poor Richard that `` early to bed , and early to rise , makes a man healthy , wealthy , and wise . '' It was not yet nine o'clock , when Jack and Otto , despite the deep interest they felt in their projected campaign , voluntarily withdrew to the other room , where they fell asleep within five minutes after their heads touched the pillow . The mother remained by the fire some time after the boys withdrew . Her small white fingers flitted hither back and forth , while her mild brown eyes seemed to look beyond the flashing needles , and into the glowing coals on the hearth . Her thoughts were sad and sorrowful , as they always were when she sat thus alone .