four o'clock
On the whole Brimfield had reason to be proud of her athletic equipment , field and gymnasium , as well as of her other advantages . The scene along the Row as the two friends clattered out of Billings was vastly different from that presented the afternoon of their arrival . Now the walk was alive with boys , heads protruded from open casements and wandering couples could be seen lounging along the gate drive or over the sloping lawn that descended to the road . First practice had been called for four o'clock and the big dial in the ivy-draped tower of Main Hall pointed its hands to three-forty when Steve and Tom turned into the path between Torrence and Wendell leading to the gymnasium and the field beyond . Already , however , the fellows were turning their steps that way , some in playing togs but more in ordinary attire , the latter , yielding to the lure of a warm September afternoon , bent on finding an hour 's entertainment stretched comfortably at ease along a side line or perched on the stand . `` That 's pretty , is n't it ? '' asked Tom , as they looked across the nearer turf to where the broad expanse of playing ground , bordered on its further side by a wooded slope , stretched before them .