about three o'clock
At length the curtains of her bed began to reveal their pattern , the brass handles of the drawers gleamed forth , and day dawned . While the light was yet no more than a suffusion of pallor , she arose , put on her hat , and determined to explore the surrounding premises before the men arrived . Emerging into the raw loneliness of the daybreak , she went upon the bridge and looked up and down the road . It was as she had left it , empty , and the solitude was rendered yet more insistent by the silence of the mill-wheel , which was now stopped , the miller having given up expecting Bob and retired to bed about three o'clock . The footprints of the marines still remained in the dust on the bridge , all the heel-marks towards the house , showing that the party had not as yet returned . While she lingered she heard a slight noise in the other direction , and , turning , saw a woman approaching . The woman came up quickly , and , to her amazement , Anne recognized Matilda .