six o'clock
There was nothing else to be done . The poor flowers suffered too , and hard work it was to keep them looking fresh . Sometimes a farmer or carter would offer the two tired little market-gardeners a ` lift ' on their homeward way , but this did not happen often , for , as a rule , they were all going in the opposite direction . There were few besides Bella and Tom who left the town so early ; and it would have been cooler and pleasanter for them if they had waited until the evening and the heat of the day was over , but they were always anxious to get home , and they really did not know where to go or what to do with themselves all the weary day until five or six o'clock . That was a very long , hot summer . The flowers opened and faded quickly , in spite of the hours the whole family spent every evening watering them ; and more than once , if it had not been for the fruit from the orchard and the vegetables , Bella and Tom would have had but a scanty supply to take to their customers . As it was , they could not carry enough to make very much profit , for fruit and vegetables are heavy , and to carry a load of them for miles is no joke .