five o'clock
`` Yes , if you like , '' was the not very gracious rejoinder , and , without accompaniment , Patty sang the old , well-known hymns in her true , sweet voice . The twilight was falling , and , as Patty 's soothing music continued , Mrs. Van Reypen fell asleep in her chair . Exhausted by a really difficult day Patty also dropped into a doze , and the two slept peacefully in their chairs in front of the dying embers of the wood fire . It was thus that Philip Van Reypen found them as he came softly in at five o'clock . `` Well , I 'll be excused , '' he said , to himself , `` if I ever saw anything to beat that ! '' His gaze had wandered from his sleeping aunt to Patty , now sound asleep in a big armchair . The crimson velvet made a perfect background for her golden curls , a bit tumbled by her afternoon exertions at being entertaining .