three o'clock before
Up to this time she had entertained a feeble expectation that her husband might be kept away from some other cause than the one she so dreaded ; but now that prop became only as a broken reed , to pierce her with a keener anguish . `` It is all over ! '' she murmured bitterly , as she again arose , and commenced , walking to and fro with slow and measured steps . It was fully three o'clock before that lonely , and almost heart-broken wife and mother retired to her chamber . How cruelly had the hope which had grown bright and buoyant in the last few months , gaining more strength and confidence every day , been again crushed to the earth ! For an hour longer did Mrs. Martin sit , listening in her chamber , everything around her so hushed into oppressive silence , that the troubled beating of her own heart , was distinctly audible . But she waited and listened in vain .