two minutes after nine
And how bright they became when you kept looking at them ! They seemed to come alive , almost , pulsing brilliantly down out of the blackness of the night ... And they were different colors , too , she noticed with a start . Some of them were blue and some were red , others were yellow ... green ... orange ... It grew cold in the April garden and she could see her breath . There was a strange crispness , a strange clarity about the night , that she had never known before ... She glanced at her watch , was astonished to see that the hands indicated two minutes after nine . Where had the time gone ? Tremulously she faced the southern horizon ... and saw her Terry appear in his shining chariot , riding up the star-pebbled path of his orbit , a star in his own right , dropping swiftly now , down , down , and out of sight beyond the dark wheeling mass of the Earth ... She took a deep , proud breath , realized that she was wildly waving her hand and let it fall slowly to her side . Make a wish !