four o'clock
The bottom of the chest was in reality hinged in such a way that it would fall , on the proper pressure being applied in two places at once , sufficiently to allow the side of the chest against the wall to be pushed aside , which in turn gave entrance to a little space some two yards long by a yard wide ; and here were kept all the necessaries for divine worship ; with room besides for a couple of men at least to be hidden away . There was also a way from this hole on to the roof , but it was a difficult and dangerous way ; and was only to be used in case of extreme necessity . It was in this lobby that Isabel found herself the next morning kneeling and waiting for mass . She had been awakened by Mistress Margaret shortly before four o'clock and told in a whisper to dress herself in the dark ; for it was impossible under the circumstances to tell whether the house was not watched ; and a light seen from outside might conceivably cause trouble and disturbance . So she had dressed herself and come down from her room along the passages , so familiar during the day , so sombre and suggestive now in the black morning with but one shaded light placed at the angles . Other figures were stealing along too ; but she could not tell who they were in the gloom . Then she had come through the little sitting-room where the scene of last night had taken place and into the lobby beyond .