three
o'clock
`` If Mrs. King sees all this mess I expect she 'll say we must n't go up on the roof again , '' said Louis . `` I suppose we cracked the rusty old iron by walking about on it . '' `` I love the roof , '' said Marcella , patiently mopping . It was three o'clock : the shrill hum of mosquitoes made them afraid to put out the light , since they had no mosquito nets . After a while they stood by the window watching the water running along the street as high as the kerb stones . `` I love the roof , too . A few months ago I 'd have fainted at the thought of doing anything so unconventional as sleeping on a roof .