midnight
All that day the old women remained together in solemn silence , broken only by the doctor 's visit . He reported that Mercy might last a couple of days more . In the evening Jim replaced his sister-in-law , who slept perforce . At midnight she reappeared and sent him to bed . The sufferer tossed about restlessly . At half-past two she awoke , and Honor fed her with some broth , as she would have fed a baby . Mercy , indeed , looked scarcely bigger than an infant , and Honor only had the advantage of her by being puffed out with clothes .