eleven o'clock
Adam could not remember when he ever had been so happy as he was driving home . He found his mother singing , his father in a genial mood , so he concluded that the greatest thing in the world to make a whole family happy was to do something kind for someone else . But he reflected that there would be far from a happy family at his grandfather 's ; and he was right . Grandmother Bates came in from her hoeing at eleven o'clock tired and hungry , expecting to find the wash dry and dinner almost ready . There was no wash and no odour of food . She went to the wood-shed and stared unbelievingly at the cold stove , the tubs of soaking clothes . She turned and went into the kitchen , where she saw no signs of Kate or of dinner , then she lifted up her voice and shouted : `` Nancy Ellen ! ''