about nine o'clock
So he stood for one long minute and feasted his hungry eyes upon the sight , until she turned and saw his heart in his eyes , and her own face grew rosy with the joy and the meaning of it all . And so they sat down to their first meal in the little house together , and then having sent the Indian back to the fort with a message , they took their way forth in the starlight together to begin their wedding journey . Billy made good time in spite of the fact that he had been out all day on parishional work , but he knew who he was hauling , and seemed to take deep satisfaction in having Hazel back again , for now and again he would turn back towards the wagon when they stopped for water and whinny happily . They reached the stopping place about nine o'clock , and the news that the missionary was going to be married spread like wildfire among the men and out to the neighbouring shacks . In no time a small crowd had collected about the place , peering out of the starlit darkness . Hazel retired to the forlorn little chamber where she had spent the night before and rummaged in her trunk for bridal apparel . In a few minutes she emerged into the long dining-room where the table had been hastily cleared and moved aside , and upon which the boarders were now seated in long rows , watching the proceedings curiously .