nine o'clock sharp
Caroline Brant shook hands and smiled a grave smile that seemed `` just made to go with her glasses , '' Laura said afterward . When the girl had passed on with Rose toward the stairway , the chums had a queer sense of comfort -- as though they had found at least one good friend at Three Towers Hall . Lunch came and went , and so absorbed were the girls in the fun and excitement of meeting new girls and listening to stories of good times had during the summer that dinner caught them before they knew it and they found that the day was gone . Everybody went to bed early that night , for Miss Walters had sent around an order that all lights should be out by nine o'clock sharp . The next day the real work of the term was to begin , and she wanted all her girls bright and fresh for the start . The next week would have been perfect for the girls , but for one thing . They liked their classrooms , which occupied all the second and third floors , they liked their studies , and they loved most of their teachers -- especially Miss Race , the mathematics teacher .