three o'clock
`` He does not change , the Bible says , '' she thought . `` He can not change . Therefore He will help me , just as surely as He did the poor , suffering people among whom He lived . '' It was but three o'clock , and yet the eastern sky was pale with dawn . At length her attention was gained by a faint but oft-repeated sound . It seemed to come from the direction of the garden , and at once the mystery that so oppressed poor Hannibal occurred to her . She rose , and passed back to her own room , which overlooked the garden , and , through the lattice , in the faint morning twilight , saw a tall , dusky figure , that looked much too substantial to be any such shadowy being as the old negro surmised , and the strokes of his hoe were too vigorous and noisy for ghostly gardening .