nine o'clock
And Molly Brownwell saw in the looking-glass that night more surely than ever before that her face was beginning to slump . Her cheeks were no longer firm , and at her eyes were the stains of tears that would not wipe off , but crinkled the skin at the temples and deepened the shadows into wide salmon-coloured lines that fell away from each side of the nose so that no trick could hide them . Moreover , the bright eyes that used to flash into Bob Hendricks ' steady blue eyes had grown tired , and women who did not know , wondered why such a pretty girl had broken so . The Culpeppers had remained with the Barclays for dinner , and the hour was late for the Ridge -- after nine o'clock , and as the departing guests went down the long curved walk of Barclay pride to the Barclay gate , they saw a late April moon rising over the trees by the mill . They clanged the tall iron gate behind them , and stood a moment watching the moon . For the colonel never grew too old to notice it . He put his arms about his wife and his daughter tenderly , and said before they started up the street , `` It never grows old -- does it ? ''