about ten o'clock
They had all dined in the old Strickland house the night before , and because of a sudden rainfall had decided to spend the night there , too . The Chinese boy who had been helping the sisters with their housecleaning had been persuaded to cook the dinner and get breakfast , and the evening about the old fireplace had been almost too poignantly sweet . Martin , who had been mixing cocktails , liked the role of host , and to the other three every inch of the house was full of happy memories , softened and saddened by all that had happened since the old days , by all that they knew and felt now , and accompanied by the softly dripping rain on the roof and eaves as by a plaintive obbligato . But suddenly , at about ten o'clock , Peter had surprised them all by getting to his feet . He was going up to the cabin , he said -- must go , in fact . `` In all the rain ! '' they had protested .