three o’clock
She went upstairs to fetch Tom and Maggie , who were both in their father 's room , and was on her way down again , when the sight of the storeroom door suggested a new thought to her . She went toward it , and left the children to go down by themselves . The aunts and uncles appeared to have been in warm discussion when the brother and sister entered , -- both with shrinking reluctance ; for though Tom , with a practical sagacity which had been roused into activity by the strong stimulus of the new emotions he had undergone since yesterday , had been turning over in his mind a plan which he meant to propose to one of his aunts or uncles , he felt by no means amicably toward them , and dreaded meeting them all at once as he would have dreaded a large dose of concentrated physic , which was but just endurable in small draughts . As for Maggie , she was peculiarly depressed this morning ; she had been called up , after brief rest , at three o'clock , and had that strange dreamy weariness which comes from watching in a sick-room through the chill hours of early twilight and breaking day , -- in which the outside day-light life seems to have no importance , and to be a mere margin to the hours in the darkened chamber . Their entrance interrupted the conversation . The shaking of hands was a melancholy and silent ceremony , till uncle Pullet observed , as Tom approached him : `` Well , young sir , we 've been talking as we should want your pen and ink ; you can write rarely now , after all your schooling , I should think . '' `` Ay , ay , '' said uncle Glegg , with admonition which he meant to be kind , `` we must look to see the good of all this schooling , as your father 's sunk so much money in , now , -- ` When land is gone and money 's spent , Then learning is most excellent . '