two o'clock in the afternoon
Similar thoughts had been uppermost with Nono , but they had now taken a different form . He was still inside the cottage , coaxing Karin to let Decima have her share in the frolic . He would hold fast to her himself , he said , and see that she came to no harm . By two o'clock in the afternoon the slide was ready . Many hands had made light work , and Frans had proved an admirable engineer . He now took his place on the long sled as steersman and captain of the whole affair . Decima , rolled in her mother 's red shawl , was placed in the midst of the group of merry boys , Nono 's willing arms holding her as firmly as it was possible to grasp such an uncertain kind of a bundle .