quarter to
two
My mother 's bed-chamber was next to mine . I heard my aunt Chance 's heavy footsteps going to and fro in the room , and , suspecting something wrong , knocked at the door . My mother 's pains had returned upon her ; there was a serious necessity for relieving her sufferings as speedily as possible , I put on my clothes , and ran off , with the medicine bottle in my hand , to the other end of the village , where the doctor lived . The church clock chimed the quarter to two on my birthday just as I reached his house . One ring of the night bell brought him to his bedroom window to speak to me . He told me to wait , and he would let me in at the surgery door . I noticed , while I was waiting , that the night was wonderfully fair and warm for the time of year .