twelve until one
At nine , she began to feel uneasy . At ten , she put on her hood and went down the road , almost to the corner , to meet her -- looking forward intensely all the way , hoping at every turn to see her expected visitor advancing along the path . She went on thus until she came in sight of the corner , without seeing or hearing any thing of Mary Bell ; and then she was compelled to return home alone , disappointed and sad . She waited dinner from twelve until one , but no Mary Bell appeared . Mary Erskine then concluded that something had happened to detain her expected visitor at home , and that she might be disappointed of the visit altogether . Still she could not but hope that Mary would come in the course of the afternoon . The hours of the afternoon , however , passed tediously away , and the sun began to decline toward the west ; still there was no Mary Bell .