ten
o'clock
Paul acted as clerk ; and a very inquisitive one he was , too , for he insisted on looking everywhere , so that he should know just what kind of goods his friends had for sale . Trade was very good ; and when the money was counted for about the fifteenth time , and it was found that they had sold twenty dollars ' worth of goods , there was not one of the four who did not believe that in less than a year Ben and Johnny would be numbered among the merchant princes of the country . When it was time for Paul to go back to the hotel , the question of escorting him to the steamer arose , for he was to make one more effort to start with his father for Europe , and it was quite certain that there would be no mistake this time . The steamer was to sail at ten o'clock ; and of course all the boys could not go , since some one must be left to attend to the store , though who that unfortunate one would be promised to be a vexing question , till Ben said , `` I 'm the oldest , an ' so I s ` pose it must be me . I 'll have to say good-bye now , Polly , for I ca n't see you in the mornin ' . When you come back , be sure an ' come up here , wo n't you ? And if you 'll write to us , Johnny an ' I 'll answer you back , for we 're goin ' to study awful hard , now that we 've got a store of our own , an ' it wo n't be long before we can write an ' figger an ' do all them things . ''