a quarter before eleven
And papa and the children , and the lonely and far-away feelings ? There was never a mention of them in this frank acceptance . Oh , Clover , Clover , circumstances _ do _ alter cases ! Mrs. Hope 's rubber of whist seemed a long one , for Phil did not get home till a quarter before eleven , by which time the two by the fire had settled the whole progress of their future lives , while the last logs of the piñon wood crackled , smouldered , and at length broke apart into flaming brands . In imagination the little ranch house had thrown out as many wings and as easily as a newly-hatched dragon-fly , had been beautified and made convenient in all sorts of ways , -- a flower-garden had sprouted round its base , plenty of room had been made for papa and the children and Katy and Ned , who were to come out continually for visits in the long lovely summers ; they themselves also were to go to and fro , -- to Burnet , and still farther afield , over seas to the old Devonshire grange which Geoff remembered so fondly . `` How my mother and Isabel will delight in you , '' he said ; `` and the squire ! You are precisely the girl to take his fancy .