But would Andrew understand ? Would he have wit enough to think of exploring the big , knobby ball for its delicate secret ? And would he be at the dance after all ? `` The evening dragged by . Time had never seemed so long to Ursula . She could not rest or sleep . It was midnight before she heard the patter of a handful of gravel on her window-panes . In a trice she was leaning out . Below in the darkness stood Kenneth MacNair . '' ` Oh , Kenneth , did you get my letter ? And is it safe for you to be here ? ' '' ` Safe enough . Your father is in bed . I 've waited two hours down the road for his light to go out , and an extra half-hour to put him to sleep . The horses are there . Slip down and out , Ursula . We 'll make Charlottetown by dawn yet . ' '' ` That 's easier said than done , lad . I 'm locked in . But do you go out behind the new barn and bring the ladder you will find there . '
`` Five minutes later , Miss Ursula , hooded and cloaked , scrambled soundlessly down the ladder , and in five more minutes she and XXXXX were riding along the road . ''
Andrew Charlottetown Kenneth MacNair Ursula before evening hours trice window-panes