two o'clock
`` Ma Heger '' had needed her help , was all that she said . Jane and Merry decided not to tell her about the night letter , for the suspense would be far harder for her to bear than it was for them . But after a time Meg began to wonder why , at frequent intervals , one or another of the young people went to the top of the stone stairs , and through field glasses , gazed down the mountain road . It was two o'clock when the old stage was seen slowly ascending . `` I entirely forgot that the stage passes us on Saturday afternoon , '' Dan exclaimed . `` Of course , Bob and Gerry waited to ride up . '' But as the lumbering vehicle neared , the passengers were seen to be all adults -- a west valley rancher , his wife and grown daughters .