nine o'clock
It was not noon yet , but experience had in some way tempered the completeness of her joy , for the marks of tears were on her pretty little face . She had neither been scolded nor punished , but she had been dragged away from a delicious play without any adequate reason . She had disappeared after breakfast , while Susanna was helping Sister Tabitha with the beds and the dishes , but as she was the most docile of children , her mother never thought of anxiety . At nine o'clock Eldress Abby took Susanna to the laundry house , and there under a spreading maple were Sue and the two youngest little Shakeresses , children of seven and eight respectively . Sue was directing the plays : chattering , planning , ordering , and suggesting expedients to her slower-minded and less-experienced companions . They had dragged a large box from one of the sheds and set it up under the tree . The interior had been quickly converted into a commodious residence , one not in the least of a Shaker type .