midnight
She was selfish in her grief , as in everything else , and took no interest in all their plans for her , expressing no satisfaction at the decision that Bea should go with her , and saying that she did not care when or where they went . One afternoon , Kittie went up stairs and found her writing something and crying bitterly over it . She so seldom cried , that Kittie was alarmed , but Ernestine said it was only because she was nervous ; then put her writing away , and took her old , listless attitude in the chair by the window . That night Olive heard something ; she was sure that she did , and started up in bed for a moment to listen , but everything was perfectly still , so in a moment she lay down again , but could not get to sleep until long after the whistle had blown for the midnight train that went through to the city . Next morning Ernestine did not come to breakfast , but it was nothing unusual , so Kittie fixed a tempting waiter and took it up stairs . In a few minutes she called `` mama , '' in a frightened way , and Mrs. Dering instantly sprang up , followed by the girls , and ran up stairs . Since her sickness , Ernestine had slept alone , and Bea had gone over with Olive ; so now , as they hurried in , they saw her untumbled bed , with just the slight pressure made where she had lain down , as though gone to bed for the night ; everything else was unchanged .