three o'clock
But they were to blow them for precisely five minutes only , and no sound of the horns should be heard afterward till the family were downstairs . It was thought that a peace might thus be bought by a short , though crowded , period of noise . The morning came . Even before the morning , at half-past three o'clock , a terrible blast of the horns aroused the whole family . Mrs. Peterkin clasped her hands to her head and exclaimed : `` I am thankful the lady from Philadelphia is not here ! '' For she had been invited to stay a week , but had declined to come before the Fourth of July , as she was not well , and her doctor had prescribed quiet . -LSB- Illustration -RSB- And the number of the horns was most remarkable !