nearly six o'clock
I 'm not going to open my lips again until we get to the boat . '' She settled back in her place and took out a book , looking over the top at him from time to time . The motion of the vehicle , the warmth of the day , and the odorous breath of flowers and shrubs gradually dulled his mischievous spirits , and he slept tranquilly until the carriage drew up at the wharf at Harrison 's Landing , whence , taken on a primitive ferry , they in an hour or more arrived at a long wooden pier extending into the river . It was nearly six o'clock when the carriage entered a solemn aisle of pines ending in a labyrinth of oleanders and the tropic-like plants of the South . Then an old-fashioned porticoed mansion came into view , and on signal from the driver a _ posse _ of colored servants came trooping out noisily to carry the invalid in . Mrs. Atterbury was on the veranda , and stepped down to the carriage to welcome the guest . She greeted him with the affectionate cordiality of a mother , and asked : `` How have you borne the fatigue ?