three o'clock
He had now the appetite of a young convalescent who was rapidly gaining strength , and Polly watched his plate at mealtime with dismay in her heart . She would zealously try to curb her own appetite , but found it a difficult task , and finally , in desperation , she made a weightier decision , and then ate what she pleased and as much , as seemed proper for the short time that remained . For , at last , after days of argument with herself , when both sides of the question were , as she honestly believed , fairly dealt with , Polly concluded to write to Uncle Maurice . The time had been set for a Wednesday morning , but was postponed until afternoon , and then three o'clock came before Polly went about it . Chris had proposed going over to the convalescent ward for a little visit ; but Polly was in no visiting mood , so she had allowed him to go alone . Slowly she mounted the stairs to her own room . Even now she was tempted to put off writing until to-morrow .