two in the afternoon
But she had several times seen the big fellow , who had apologized at such length for running into her at the depot , and who had gone so quickly to the assistance of Denny . It was natural , under such conditions , that she should remember him . It was natural , too , that she never dreamed of connecting the young hero of the street fight with the Reverend Matthews of the Memorial Church . Her patient had so far improved that the nurse was now able to leave her for an hour or two in the afternoon , and the young woman had gone for a walk just beyond the outskirts of the village . Coming to the top of the hill she had turned aside from the dusty highway , thinking to enjoy the view from the shade of a great oak that grew on a grassy knoll in the center of the school grounds . Dan watched her as she made her way slowly across the yard , his eyes bright with admiration for her womanly grace as she stopped , here and there , to pick a wild flower from the tangle of grass and weeds . Reaching the tree she seated herself and , laying her parasol on the grass by her side , began arranging the blossoms she had gathered -- pausing , now and then , to look over the rolling country of field and woods that , dotted by farm houses with their buildings and stacks , stretched away into the blue distance .