two o'clock in the
morning
The doors had stood open at supper time , and Dannie staid up late , mending and oiling the harness . Jimmy sat by cleaning his gun , for to his mortification he had that day missed killing a crow which stole from the ash hopper the egg with which Mary tested the strength of the lye . In a basket behind the kitchen stove fifteen newly hatched yellow chickens , with brown stripes on their backs , were peeping and nestling ; and on wing the killdeers cried half the night . At two o'clock in the morning came a tap on the Malone 's bedroom window . `` Dannie ? '' questioned Mary , half startled . `` Tell Jimmy ! ''