nine o'clock in the morning
She had no umbrella . But she had known what it was to wait on such occasions before . The next ` bus would probably be full up inside , and the next , and the next . Twenty minutes might well be wasted before she could start on her way home , and you have little energy left within you to care about a wetting , when from nine o'clock in the morning until six , when it is dark , you have been beating the keys of a typewriter . Your mind demands but little then , so long as you can secure a peaceful oblivion . So , in the face of others who turned back , she mounted the stairway on to the roof of the ` bus . There she was alone , and , pulling the tarpaulin covering around her , she seated herself on the little bench farthest from the driver .