About four o'clock
She had no misgivings about her home . Fences would not have improved her father 's vast lawn , to her mind , or white paint the low-browed front of his dwelling ; nor did she feel the want of a stair-carpet and a parlor-organ . She was sure that they , the strangers , had never seen anything more lovely than her beloved river dancing down between the hills , tripping over rapids , wrinkling over sand-bars of its own spreading , and letting out its speed down the long reaches where the channel was deep . About four o'clock she found leisure to stroll along the shore with Tommy , whose competitive energies as a fisherman had been stimulated by the advent of strange craftsmen with scientific-looking tackle . Tommy must forthwith show what native skill could do with a willow pole and grasshoppers for bait . But Ruth Mary 's sense of propriety would by no means tolerate Tommy 's intruding his company upon the strangers , and to frustrate any rash , gregarious impulses on his part she judged it best to keep him in sight . Tommy knew of a deep pool under the willows which he could whip , unseen , in the shady hours of the afternoon .