one
o'clock
So there were very few at the dance , giving , as Betty 's father jokingly said , a chance for the `` young old men '' to show their accomplishments . And the `` young old men , '' did so well that there had never , in all the history of Deepdale , been a merrier party . Being an age when everybody danced , up to the grandfathers of ninety , the girls had no lack of partners , and were oftentimes amazed at the skill and dexterity and lightness shown by men who were old enough to be their fathers twice over . Of course some of them were stiff and a little `` creaky in the joints , '' but this only added to the general hilarity , and at one o'clock the fun was still fast and furious . `` Oh , I never had such a good time , '' cried Mollie , sinking down beside Betty on one of the roughly improvised benches , weak from laughing . `` I was just dancing with old Doctor Riley , and he kept me in stitches . Half the time he had almost to carry me around , I was laughing so . ''