nine o’clock
The eldest boy , a practical youth , pointed out , very sensibly , that nothing could be gained by their not going on with their dinner , but was bitterly reproached for being able to think of any form of enjoyment at a moment when his poor dear father was in heaven . It reminded his mother of the special message to Cousin Jane , who up to that moment had been playing the part of comforter . With the collapse of Cousin Jane , dramatic in its suddenness , conversation disappeared . At nine o'clock the entire family went dinnerless to bed . The eldest boy -- as I have said , a practical youth -- had the sense to get up early the next morning and send a wire , which brought the glad news back to them that their beloved one was not in heaven , but was still in Colorado . But the only reward my friend got for all his tender thoughtfulness was the vehement injunction never for the remainder of his life to play such a fool 's trick again . There were other cases I could have recited showing the ill recompense that so often overtakes the virtuous action ; but , as I explained to Bute , it would have saddened me to dwell upon the theme .