seven o'clock
A month went along very quietly and , following that , another month . The weeds that had flourished along the sides of the ditches were all dead . No more did the squawking O'Callaghan geese delight themselves among them . The kitchen stove had long been brought back into the shanty , and Barney and Tommie , sitting close behind it on their short evenings that ended in bedtime at half-past seven o'clock , had only the remembrance of their labors . But that memory sweetened the prospect of savory dinners to come , for even Barney and Tommie liked to feel that they were of some importance in the family world . Often had their mother praised them for their care of the geese , and once she had bought for them a whole nickel 's worth of candy and had bestowed this great treat with the words , `` And how could I be havin ' geese only for the little b ` ys ? You 'll jist be givin ' Larry a bit , for sure and he 'll be past four nixt summer , and helpin ' you loike anything . ''