About ten o'clock
Not a show had arrived , not a strange dog , no romantic figures were wandering the streets in search of lodgings , no stands had sprung up in the square . You could pass hours in pretending to fear that when the morning came there would be no fairyland . And all the time you _ knew _ . About ten o'clock Ballingall 's cat was observed washing its face , a deliberate attempt to bring on rain . It was immediately put to death . Tommy and Elspeth had agreed to lie awake all night ; if Tommy nipped Elspeth , Elspeth would nip Tommy . Other children had made the same arrangement , though the experienced ones were aware that it would fail .