four
o'clock
Without comment their guest resumed her seat and soon appeared to be immersed in her volume . Gradually the sun crossed the mountain and cast a black shadow over the plain below , a shadow which lengthened and advanced inch by inch until it shrouded the landscape spread beneath them . `` That is my sun-dial , '' remarked Mary Louise , dropping her needlework to watch the shifting scene . `` When the shadow passes the Huddle , it 's four o'clock ; by the time it reaches that group of oaks , it is four-thirty ; at five o'clock it touches the creek , and then I know it 's time to help Aunt Hannah with the dinner . '' Agatha laughed . `` Is it really so late ? '' she asked .