two o'clock in the morning
Charity found herself clinging to Harney 's arm and sobbing desperately . Mr. Royall had disappeared , and in the distance she heard the receding sound of Julia 's laugh . The boat , laden to the taffrail , was puffing away on her last trip . AT two o'clock in the morning the freckled boy from Creston stopped his sleepy horse at the door of the red house , and Charity got out . Harney had taken leave of her at Creston River , charging the boy to drive her home . Her mind was still in a fog of misery , and she did not remember very clearly what had happened , or what they said to each other , during the interminable interval since their departure from Nettleton ; but the secretive instinct of the animal in pain was so strong in her that she had a sense of relief when Harney got out and she drove on alone . The full moon hung over North Dormer , whitening the mist that filled the hollows between the hills and floated transparently above the fields .