eight
o'clock
`` Open and shut is a sign of wet , '' quoted Berrie , cheerily . The night rose formidably from the valley while they ate their supper ; but Berrie remained tranquil . `` Those horses probably went clean back to the ranch . If they did , daddy ca n't possibly get back before eight o'clock , and he may not get back till to-morrow . '' Norcross , with his city training , was acutely conscious of the delicacy of the situation . In his sister 's circle a girl left alone in this way with a man would have been very seriously embarrassed ; but it was evident that Berrie took it all joyously , innocently . Their being together was something which had happened in the natural course of weather , a condition for which they were in no way responsible .