midnight
Some people are geniuses about good times , and the Colonel and Miss Priscilla are two of that kind . The ride home was almost the best of all . The boys sang and gave Raccoon calls and practised different kinds of wood signals and ate the things we had saved from supper , with Mamie Sue to keep them company , also Lovelace Peyton , who slept part of the time with his head on Tony 's knees , but waked up if any stray refreshments threatened to get past him . We all hushed at the edge of town , for the Colonel said it was after midnight , and he unpacked each one at his or her own front door so softly that not even a dog barked . He put me out at the cottage because he did n't want to stop the wagon in front of our house on account of disturbing Mother , and I went in to unfasten Roxanne 's dress and to get mine done likewise , then I could slip home through the garden , which is always so lovely with the moonlight making ghost flowers of Roxanne 's ancestral blossoms . I wish I did n't have to write you , leather Louise , what happened next , at the same time as the birthday , but I ca n't sleep unless I do . Would God be so cruel to me as to let me get just this one little taste of being happy and then take it away from me ?