six o'clock in the evening
Dorothy wept when taking leave of her , and Mrs. Seabrook clung fondly to her . `` I am very loath to let you go , '' she said , `` for there have been many peaceful hours in this room when you have been with us , and I shall count the weeks until we are all back again . Somehow , I am dreading my summer , '' she concluded , with a weary sigh . It was six o'clock in the evening when the young travelers reached Boston , where they were met by Mr. Minturn , an unusually prepossessing gentleman , who evidently was very fond of `` my girlie , '' as he called Katherine when he gathered her into his strong arms . and held close for a moment . Then he greeted Sadie with a breezy cordiality which , for once , disabused her of the notion that Northerners were `` stiff and cold '' and Southern hospitality at a premium . They had just time to get their trunks rechecked and catch a suburban train , and about an hour later , seated behind a pair of spirited bays , they were rolling over a smooth country road and ere long drew up beneath the porte cochere of a fine residence built on a rocky bluff and overlooking a broad expanse of ocean .