a
quarter after seven
Being downstairs again , she breathed more freely . There was light all about her , and the hall-parlour was bright and warm . The kettle was now singing in the cheerful blaze , the cat was purring on the rug , and there was a smell of bacon slowly frying . She looked at the clock -- it was a quarter after seven . `` Time to waken baby , '' she thought . She took from a chest the child 's outdoor clothes -- a robe , a pelisse , and a white hood . Her fingers had touched a scarlet hood in a cardboard box , but `` not that '' she thought , and left it .