ten o'clock
`` It is never so late as this , when he rides in through the gate . '' `` I fear some accident has happened , '' cried Helen , `` he has a very bad bridge to cross , and the stream is deep below . '' `` How much that sounds like Helen , '' exclaimed Mrs Hazleton , `` so fearful and full of misgivings ! I shall not give him up before ten o'clock . If you like , you can both sit up and bear me company -- if not , you may leave me to watch alone . '' They both eagerly exclaimed that they would far rather sit up with her , and then they were sure they could finish their purses , and have them ready as gifts for the brother and friend so anxiously looked for . Though the distance that separated them from him was short , and his visits frequent , they were ever counted as holidays of the heart , as eras from which all past events were dated -- and on which all future ones were dependent .