eight o'clock
Do you suppose I 've lived all these years and never seen the _ moon _ ? '' and laughing merrily she slipped away from them , only pausing to add : `` It is ten minutes of seven now . '' The hint was enough , and not a girl `` got left '' that night . At eight o'clock a silvery ting-a-ling was heard , and never was bell more promptly responded to . Had it been a fire alarm the rooms could not have been more quickly emptied . The moonlight made all outside nearly as bright as day , and when the girls went out upon the porch they found three huge sleighs , with four horses each , waiting to whirl them over the shining roads for miles . Miss Preston did not make one of the party , but Miss Howard was a welcome substitute , for , next to Miss Preston , the girls loved her better than any of the other teachers , and Toinette was sorely divided in her mind as to which she was learning to love the better .