midnight
It was not a long letter , yet somehow she had managed exactly to convey the meaning she had intended . As she was finishing it , she heard the distant chime of the grandfather 's clock downstairs , striking the half hour , and she smiled tenderly as the words of Nora 's song returned to her . `` I wonder : ` Is it I who write to thee , or thou to me ? ' '' Despite her midnight vigil , Grace rose before seven o'clock the next morning . On the previous afternoon Jean had stated that he would come early to Mrs. Gray 's the following morning to bid them farewell before starting on his search for Tom . Eight o'clock found herself and Elfreda Briggs walking rapidly up Chapel Hill . They found the old hunter had stolen a march on them , however .