about
five o'clock
An ' by November it was all done an ' plastered an ' waitin ' its pews -- an ' it was a-goin ' to be dedicated with special doin 's -- music from off , an ' strange ministers , an ' Reverend Arthur Bliss from the City . I guess Abel an ' the elders hed tacked printed invites to half the barns in the county . `` I rec ` lect it was o ' Wednesday , the one next before the dedication , an ' windy-cold an ' wintry . I 'd been havin ' a walk that day , an ' ` long about five o'clock , right about where we are , I 'd stood watchin ' the sunset over the Pump pasture there , till I was chilled through . The smoke was rollin ' out o ' the church chimney because they was dryin ' the plaster , an ' I run in there to get my hands warm an ' see how the plaster was doin ' . An ' inside was the three elders , walkin ' ` round , layin ' a finger on a sash or a post -- the kind o ' odd , knowledgeable way men has with new buildin 's . The Ladies ' Aid had got the floor broom-clean , an ' the lamp-chandelier filled an ' ready ; an ' the foreign pipe-organ that the Proudfits had sent from Europe was in an ' in workin ' order , little lookin ' - glass over the keyboard an ' all .