ten o'clock
Mrs Asplin and the four young folks were sitting waiting in the drawing-room , and each one turned an eager , excited face towards the doorway as Peggy entered , her cheeks white , but with shining eyes , and hair ruffled into little curls beneath the scarlet cap . Mrs Asplin would have rushed forward in welcome , but a look in her husband 's face restrained her , and there was a deathlike silence in the room as he took up his position by the mantelpiece . `` Mariquita , '' he said slowly , `` you have caused us to-night some hours of the most acute and painful anxiety which we have ever experienced . You disappeared suddenly from among us , and until ten o'clock , when your telegram arrived , we had not the faintest notion as to where you could be . The most tragic suspicions came to our minds . We have spent the evening in rushing to and fro , searching and inquiring in all directions . Mrs Asplin has had a shock from which , I fear , she will be some time in recovering .