four
o'clock before
Weary but sleepless , she pushed back the heavy folds of hair that had fallen on her forehead , brightened the gaslight , and turned to the completion of a chapter in that MS. which the editor had recommended her to commit to the flames . So entirely was she absorbed in her work that the hours passed unheeded . Now and then , when her thoughts failed to flow smoothly into graceful sentence moulds , she laid aside her pen , walked up and down the floor , turning the idea over and over , fitting it first to one phrase , then to another , until the verbal drapery fully suited her . The whistle of the locomotive at the station told her that it was four o'clock before her task was accomplished ; and , praying that God 's blessing would rest upon it , she left it unfinished , and threw herself down to sleep . But slumber brought no relaxation to the busy brain that toiled on in fitful , grotesque dreams ; and when sunshine streamed through the open window at the foot of her bed , it showed no warm flush of healthful sleep on the beautiful face , but weariness and pallor . Incoherent words stirred the lips , troubled thought knitted the delicately arched brows , and the white , dimpled arms were tossed restlessly above her head . Was the tired midnight worker worthy of her hire ?