Eleven o'clock
She was a soldier 's daughter , a soldier 's wife , and she rallied all her strength and pride and strove to be blithe and animated and entertaining . From her first appearance Mrs. Truscott had been a favorite in that somewhat exacting garrison , perhaps the hardest one in the army in which to achieve popularity , because of the various cliques and interests ; and now that that very interesting Miss Sanford was with her , their pretty home on the plain was always a rendezvous for the socially disposed . And so it happened that all the long evening neither she nor Jack could obtain release from their duties as entertainers . Eleven o'clock came before the last of the ladies departed , and then Mr. Ferris lingered for a _ tête-à-tête _ with Miss Sanford , and poor Grace found herself compelled to sit and talk with Mr. Barnard , who was a musical devotee and afflicted with a conviction that they ought to sing duets , and Mrs. Truscott could not be induced to sing duets with any man , unless Jack would try . She knew that he had gone to the little library where he kept his favorite books and did his writing . She heard the door close after him , and , with unutterable longing , she desired to go and throw herself upon her favorite perch , his knee , and twine her arms around his neck and bury her head upon his broad shoulder . She could think of nothing but that fateful letter from Hays .