ten o'clock
After that they took a little trip into the mountains near by , and Cherry sent Alix postcards that made her sister feel almost a pang of envy . But then the routine began again , and the fearful heat of midsummer came , too . Red Creek baked in a smother of dusty heat , the trees in the dry orchards , beside the dry roads , dropped circles of hot shadow on the clodded , rough earth . Farms dozed under shimmering lines of dazzling air , and in the village , from ten o'clock until the afternoon began to wane , there was no stir . Flies buzzed and settled on screen doors , the creek shrunk away between crumbling rocky banks , the butcher closed his shop , and milk soured in the bottles . The Turners , and some other families , always camped together in the mountains during this season , and they were off when school closed , in an enviable state of ecstasy and anticipation . Cherry had planned to join them , but an experimental week-end was enough .