ten o'clock
The pretty girl in white and the little one . And me a-waiting on , for I do n't know what . It do n't seem fair , somehow . '' It was ten o'clock that evening when Jerry Morton heard the news . Ill tidings travel fast , even without the help of modern invention . One of the Snooks boys , not Andy but Elisha , an older brother , brought the word , and his manner was suggestive of a certain complacency as if he felt that his own importance was increased by his momentous tidings . He found Jerry sitting on the steps , though it was long past bedtime , his chin on his hand , and his unblinking gaze fixed upon the stars , as if he were trying to stare them out of countenance .