midnight
As she walked she leaned heavily upon Mammy Riah , and her colour came and went in quick flashes . The heat had entered into her brain and with it the memory of open wounds and the red hands of surgeons . Reaching the house at last , she flung herself all dressed upon the bed and fell into a sleep that was filled with changing dreams . At midnight she cried out in agony , believing herself to be still in the street . When Mammy Riah bent over her she did not know her , but held out shaking hands and asked for her mother , calling the name aloud in the silent house , deserted for the sake of the hospitals lower down . She was walking again on and on over the hot bricks , and the deep wounds were opening before her eyes while the surgeons went by with dripping hands . Once she started up and cried out that the terrible blue sky was crushing her down to the pavement which burned her feet .