six
o'clock
A word spoken there could not be spoken in secret . By and by , Helen , the elder sister , proposed to take Bessie to the arcade . Mr. Cecil Burleigh demurred , but acceded when it was added that `` mamma '' would go with them . Mamma went , a weary , willing sacrifice ; and in the arcade and in somebody 's pretty verandah they spent the hot afternoon until six o'clock . When they returned to the house , Mr. Cecil Burleigh and Julia were still together , and the new song on the desk of the piano had not been moved to make room for any other . The gentleman appeared annoyed , the lady weary and dejected . Bessie had no doubt that they were lovers who had roughnesses in the course of their true love , and she sentimentally wished them good-speed over all obstacles .