nine o'clock
Ephraim was a New Englander , and not an adept in expressing his emotions . Both Cynthia and Jethro felt that he would have liked to have said something appropriate if he had known how . What he actually said was : -- `` What time to-morrow ? '' `` C-callate to take the nine o'clock from Brampton , '' said Jethro . `` I 'll report for duty at seven , '' said Ephraim , and it was then he squeezed the hand that he found in his . He watched them calmly enough until they had disappeared in the barn behind the tannery house , and then his thoughts became riotous . Rumors had been rife that summer , prophecies of changes to come , and the resignation of the old man who had so long been postmaster at Brampton was freely discussed -- or rather the matter of his successor .