about six o'clock
Her cousin would leave the invalid in silence , but she always smiled ; and she would bring some offering with her , a dish of food -- Asako 's favorite dishes , of which Tanaka had already compiled a complete list -- or sometimes a flower . At the open door she would pause to shuffle off her pale blue _ zori _ -LRB- sandals -RRB- ; and she would glide across the clean rice-straw matting shod in her snow-white _ tabi _ only . Asako gradually accustomed herself to the noises of the house . First , there was the clattering of the _ amado _ , the wooden shutters whose removal announced the beginning of the day , then the gurgling and the expectorations which accompanied the family ablutions , then the harsh sound of the men 's voices and their rattling laughter , the sound of their _ geta _ on the gravel paths of the garden like the tedious dropping of heavy rain on an iron roof , then the flicking and dusting of the maids as they went about their daily _ soji _ -LRB- house-cleaning -RRB- , their shrill mouselike chirps and their silly giggle ; then the afternoon stillness when every one was absent or sleeping ; and then , the revival of life and bustle at about six o'clock , when the clogs were shuffled off at the front door , when the teacups began to jingle , and when sounds of swishing water came up from the bath-house , the crackle of the wood-fire under the bathtub , the smell of the burning logs , and the distant odours of the kitchen . Outside , the twilight was beginning to gather . A big black crow flopped lazily on to the branch of the neighbouring pine-tree . His harsh croak disturbed Asako 's mind like a threat .