six o'clock
So Joan was prepared for her lover 's departure from Delgratz soon after daybreak . The heat of the noon hours was so excessive that early rising became more of a necessity than a virtue ; hence her appearance on the veranda . Alec had definitely promised his mother before retiring to rest that he would not dispense with an escort until the city was thoroughly quieted down after the day 's excitement . The troopers paraded at six o'clock , and he did not keep them waiting a minute . Joan , delighting in the military display , watched him mount and ride off with that half-maternal solicitude which is the true expression of a woman 's love . She hoped he would look up ere he quitted the courtyard -- and she must have telegraphed her wish ; for Alec at once turned in the saddle , almost as though some one had told him she was there . He waved a hand in gay greeting , and it would appear that a whim seized him at the sight of her , since he gave some instructions to an aid de camp , who came clanking back to the porch , dismounted , and entered the building .