eleven o'clock
Once when he had appeared with his countenance gloomier than ever before , Sisa had consulted him about the plan of making a sacristan of Basilio , and he had merely continued to stroke his game-cock , saying neither yes nor no , only asking whether the boy would earn much money . She had not dared to insist , but her needy situation and her desire that the boys should learn to read and write in the town school forced her to carry out the plan . Still her husband had said nothing . That night , between ten and eleven o'clock , when the stars were glittering in a sky now cleared of all signs of the storm of the early evening , Sisa sat on a wooden bench watching some fagots that smouldered upon the fireplace fashioned of rough pieces of natural rock . Upon a tripod , or _ tunko _ , was a small pot of boiling rice and upon the red coals lay three little dried fishes such as are sold at three for two cuartos . Her chin rested in the palm of her hand while she gazed at the weak yellow glow peculiar to the cane , which burns rapidly and leaves embers that quickly grow pale . A sad smile lighted up her face as she recalled a funny riddle about the pot and the fire which Crispin had once propounded to her .