nearly two o'clock
Some of the lingering crowd were snowbound for the night and were making merry with hard cider and provisions which Schell was not loath to sell them . Pete was one of the number , and Hiram sent him home with the news of his mother 's serious hurt . He forced the horse to take him into town to Dr. Broderick . It was nearly two o'clock when he routed out the doctor , and it was four o'clock when the physician and himself , in a heavy sleigh and behind a pair of mules , reached the Dickerson farmhouse . The woman had not returned to consciousness , and Mrs. Atterson remained through the day to do what she could . But it was many a tedious week before Mrs. Dickerson was on her feet again , and able to move about . Meanwhile , more than one kindly act had Mother Atterson done for the neighbors who had seemed so careless of her rights .