nearly two o'clock before
`` We might have gone in the car if it had been within reasonable distance . We could n't possibly have motored to Prestwick and back in a day , though ! Trains may be hot and stuffy , but they get one over the ground . '' It was nearly two o'clock before they reached their destination . They had just time for a hasty lunch at a restaurant , and then Aunt Harriet hailed a taxi and they drove to the hospital . This was a large , fine house in the suburbs , given up by its patriotic owner to the use of the Red Cross . As they turned in at the gate they could see an attractive garden , where groups of Tommies in their blue invalid uniforms were lounging in deck chairs , or lying full length on rugs spread upon the grass .