twenty
minutes past two
With an encouraging nod or two , he immediately went out to alter the arrangements , and left her by herself to follow as she had proposed . The having originated a precaution which was already in course of execution , was a great relief to Miss Pross . The necessity of composing her appearance so that it should attract no special notice in the streets , was another relief . She looked at her watch , and it was twenty minutes past two . She had no time to lose , but must get ready at once . Afraid , in her extreme perturbation , of the loneliness of the deserted rooms , and of half-imagined faces peeping from behind every open door in them , Miss Pross got a basin of cold water and began laving her eyes , which were swollen and red . Haunted by her feverish apprehensions , she could not bear to have her sight obscured for a minute at a time by the dripping water , but constantly paused and looked round to see that there was no one watching her .