about two
o'clock in the morning
The disappearance of Janus Grubb , the guide who had been engaged by Miss Elting during their mountain hike , and the surprising events that followed made the story of their mountain trip well worth reading . And now , once more , we find the Meadow-Brook Girls ready to take the trail again wherever that trail might lead . At the present moment , however , it did not look as though Harriet Burrell and her friends would reach their destination in the immediate future unless it were nearer at hand than they thought . Not once during the night did the moon show her face , though about two o'clock in the morning the clouds thinned , the landscape showing with more distinctness . The girls , when they walked down to the shore , saw a sheet of water covering several acres . Leading down to the water was a pier that extended far out into the little lake or pond , whatever it might be . Harriet , Jane and Miss Elting walked out to the far end of the pier .