eight o'clock
It must not be understood that Nat was a very silly boy . Not at all . He did like Tavia , but he liked his own sweet cousin Dorothy , and would have been just as disappointed , if not more so , had it been Dorothy who had missed her train and not Tavia . But the fact that all seemed to need Tavia to finish up the holiday plans , and that now she had not come put Nat in a very restless mood , and when the dinner , which was served immediately upon the return from the depot , was over , Nat decided he would find something to do that would occupy his time until the eight o'clock train , when , of course , they would again go to the station . Electricity was this young man 's `` hobby , '' and he had already fitted up the cellar with all sorts of wires and attachments for regulating the household affairs , such as turning on the heat by touching a button in the stable where the hired man , John , had his quarters , and lighting the gas in the coal-cellar by touching a button at the cook 's elbow ; in fact , Nat really did arrange a number of most convenient contrivances , but the family , all except Joe and Roger , thought his talent misapplied . They insisted he ought to study `` railroading . '' `` Or laying pipes , '' Ned would tell him when Nat pointed out some improvement in the miniature telephone system .