nine o'clock
It never rains on things Mother plans . '' And it did n't . The morning of the picnic dawned clear and dewy and sparkling , as perfect a summer day as though it had been made to the Camerons ' order . By nine o'clock the big hay-wagon had appeared , driven by Mr. Gordon himself , who said he was going to turn over the reins to Mr. Cameron when they reached the Gordon farm . Two more horses were hitched on and all the Camerons piled in , with enough boxes and baskets and bags of potatoes , one would think , to feed a small town , and away the hay-wagon went down the hill , stopping at house after house to take in smiling people , with more boxes and baskets and bags . It was all very care-free and gay , and Elliott smiled and chattered away with the rest ; but in her heart of hearts she knew that there was n't one of these boys and girls who squeezed into the capacious hay-wagon to whom she would have given a second glance , before coming up here to Vermont . Now she wondered whether they were all as negligible as they looked .