four in the morning
`` When we 've got the children 's walking-sticks , '' corrected Bella , and they both hurried down to the market-house to get them . `` We 'll take home some cinnamon rock to Aunt Emma , '' said Bella ; `` she likes that better than anything . '' At last , with their baskets empty save for their purchases , they proudly and joyfully turned their faces homewards , delighted in every way with their day 's experiences . The walk home certainly did seem rather long , far longer than the walk out , but they were very tired , of course , for they had been on their feet , with scarcely any rest , since four in the morning . The sun was hot too , and the road dusty , and such a number of carriages and carts passed them that the air all the time seemed full of a haze of dust -- at least it did until they had got a couple of miles or so away from Norton . After that it grew less bustling and much pleasanter . And then by the last milestone , which was a good mile from May Lane , they found their father and Margery and Charlie waiting for them .