six o'clock
He did not think of Helen quite as often as formerly , nor were his letters to her as frequent or as long . So the summer passed and late August came , the last Saturday afternoon of that month . Albert and Madeline were together , walking together along the beach from the knoll where they had met so often . It was six o'clock and the beach was deserted . There was little wind , the tiny waves were lapping and plashing along the shore , and the rosy light of the sinking sun lay warm upon the water and the sand . They were thinking and speaking of the summer which was so near its end . `` It has been a wonderful summer , has n't it ? ''