four o'clock
Ah ! if we could teach our boys what _ true _ manliness is , the world would be a better place than it is . '' The days were beginning to close in now . By four o'clock or half-past it was almost dark , and , once the sun had gone down , cold , with a peculiar biting coldness not felt farther north , where the temperature is more equable and the contrasts less sudden . Grandmother put on her fur-lined cloak and set off to meet the little market-women . Once , twice thrice she walked to the corner of the road -- they were not to be seen , and she was beginning to fear the temptations of the shops had delayed them unduly , when they suddenly came in view ; and the moment they caught sight of her familiar figure off they set , as if touched at the same instant by an electric thrill , running towards her like two lapwings . `` Dear grandmother , how good of you to come to meet us , '' said Sylvia .