nine o'clock
They rode `` off bounds , '' that morning ; following Captain Lem , with a couple of trained horsemen riding at their rear . Perhaps of all the company , Herbert and Molly were happiest . They were as much at home in the saddle as any cowboy of them all , and their high spirits spread to their mates , so that even they regretted the order that the leader gave : `` Right about , face ! Rifle practice -- nine o'clock , sharp ! '' They had n't a minute to lose ; yet when the `` awkward squad '' repaired to the Barracks only the four girls answered to roll call . The lads came straggling up , later , their heads close together , an air of profound mischief and mystery about them , and Dorothy heard the words `` Bear Hunt '' escape from one of them . Her heart sank .