the
hour of four
We talked excitedly of the possibilities of such a wonderful and dangerous friendship . And as it turned out , none of our imaginings equalled what really happened . The afternoon passed quickly . As the hands of our alarm clock neared the hour of four we obliterated the traces of our sojourn on the bed as well as we could , and , when Mrs. Handsomebody entered , she found us sitting in a row on the three cane-bottomed chairs , on which we hung our clothes at night . The scolding she gave us was even longer and more humiliating to our manhood than usual . She shook her hard white finger near our faces and said that for very little she would write to our father and complain of our actions . `` Now , '' she said , in conclusion , `` give your faces and hands a thorough washing and comb your hair , which is disgraceful ; then come quietly down to tea . ''