midnight
Her lips were parched and cracked and the sun beat pitilessly down . So the hours passed till the stars began to pale and a new day was at hand . Before sunrise the party had been called , and , filled with excitement , made the wooden walls of the National Rouse resound with the hum of preparation . Now , though Peggy at midnight had fully determined to tell Mr. Bell all she had overheard , Peggy , in the bright , crisp early dawn , felt that to do so would be absurd . After all , the men might merely have been chatting about the party , whose expedition was surely an adventurous and interesting one . It might make Mr. Bell think her a victim of girlish fancies if she went to him with the story , so Peggy decided to remain silent . Afterward she was sorry for this .