three in the afternoon
A fancy dress parade was to be one of the features of the first evening , and as a prize was offered for the cleverest costume , all of the contestants were carefully guarding the secret of the characters their costumes would represent . Although Roger had given no hint of what his costume was to be , he calmly announced that he knew it would take the prize . The others laughed , thinking this a jest , and Patty was of a private opinion that probably Mr. Hepworth 's costume would be cleverer than Roger 's , as the artist had most original and ingenious ideas . The fair was to open at three in the afternoon , and soon after twelve o'clock Patty rushed into the house looking for somebody to send on an errand . She found no one about but Bertha Warner , who was hastily putting some finishing touches to her own gypsy dress . `` That 's almost finished , is n't it , Bertha ? '' began Patty breathlessly .