nine o'clock
The spielers among the hens were announcing that the day 's business was off to a good start , with prospects never brighter , dogs barked , calves bawled , cow-bells jangled -- there was even a murmur of talking . `` They are not dead , '' said Pearl , as she listened , bareheaded , at the gate , `` not dead , except to me -- but they are not going to let the children come ! `` They have turned me down ! '' At nine o'clock , a flash of hope lighted up the gloom that had settled on her heart . The Snider twins , two tiny black dots , side by side like quotation marks , appeared distinctly against the vivid green of their father 's wheat field and continued to advance upon the school-house , until they were but half a mile away . Then , noticing that no one else was abroad , they turned about and retraced their steps in haste , believing it must be Sunday , or a holiday -- or something . They were quite right on the last guess .