ten o'clock
Otherwise the wrench at leaving home might have been even more distressing than it was . His last day passed like a flash , though from his attitude no one , certainly not Becky , would have guessed that the next morning he would not be there to eat his breakfast in the sunny kitchen window . Amos , quick to sense all Chris 's moods , knew something was afoot , and when Chris and Mr. Wicker finally told him of the sailing plan , Amos 's eyes grew rounder than ever and sparkled more brightly , but he said never a word . At ten o'clock that night , when Becky had gone heavily to her room , wondering perhaps why Chris had given her so hard a hug , Ned Cilley knocked at the back door . He had brought a light cart on which there stood a large wicker hamper . Ned and Chris lifted it into the kitchen while Mr. Wicker drew the curtains and then held a candle high . The candlelight flickered and flapped like a trapped bird at the corners of the room , and sharp bird-wing shadows cut across Mr. Wicker 's tall dark figure .