nine o'clock
Had she said to me : `` Sir , you are an upstart , and I , sitting quietly at the same table with you , and inviting you to eat of the same dish of marmalade , am a descendant of the Blands and the Fairfaxes , '' -- her words would have stabbed me less deeply than did the pathetic `` Can this be possible ? '' of her smiling features . A canary , swinging in a gilt cage between the curtains at the window , broke suddenly into a jubilant fluting ; and rising from the table , we stood for a minute , as if petrified , with our eyes on the bird , and on the box of blossoming sweet alyssum upon the sill . A little later , when I left with the plea that the General expected me at nine o'clock , the two elder ladies gave me their small , transparent hands , while their polite farewell sounded as final as if it had been uttered on the edge of an open grave . Only Sally , smiling up at me , with that puzzled yet determined look still in her eyes , said gayly , `` When you go walking at sunrise , Ben , choose the road-to-what-might-have-been ! '' Her words rang in my ears while I went along the crooked pavement under the burnished sycamore . As I met the General at the corner I was still hearing them , and they prompted the speech that burst impulsively from my lips .