midnight
Ca n't stop now she 's waiting for me . Do n't sit up , Mac . '' `` The gods go with you , Archie . '' And the cousins separated one to write till midnight , the other to bid his Phebe good-bye , little dreaming how unexpectedly and successfully she was to earn her welcome home . Rose , meantime , was trying to find out what the sentiment was with which she regarded her cousin Mac . She could not seem to reconcile the character she had known so long with the new one lately shown her , and the idea of loving the droll , bookish , absentminded Mac of former times appeared quite impossible and absurd , but the new Mac , wide awake , full of talent , ardent and high-handed , was such a surprise to her , she felt as if her heart was being won by a stranger , and it became her to study him well before yielding to a charm which she could not deny . Affection came naturally , and had always been strong for the boy ; regard for the studious youth easily deepened to respect for the integrity of the young man , and now something warmer was growing up within her ; but at first she could not decide whether it was admiration for the rapid unfolding of talent of some sort or love answering to love .