ten o'clock
And then Frank Gridley 's oldest son , Ed , came back from business college with store clothes and city hats and polished tan shoes , and began idling about , calling on the girls . From the first , he and Susie ran together like two drops of water . Bronson Perkins , a cousin of mine , a big , silent , ruminative lad who had long hung about Susie , stood no show at all . One night in county-fair week , Susie , who had gone to the fair with a crowd of girl friends , was not at home at ten o'clock . Lem , sitting in his doorway and watching the clock , heard the approach of the laughing , singing straw-ride in which she had gone , with a long breath of relief ; but the big hay-wagon did not stop at his gate . He called after it in a harsh voice and was told that `` Ed Gridley and she went off to the hotel to get supper . He said he 'd bring her home later . ''