six o'clock
She waited a minute on the doorstep to let a troop of female mill-hands go by ; their shoes clanked on the pavement , and they were singing in chorus , a common habit of their kind in leaving work . Then she started and walked quickly ... . Close by the stage-door , which was in a dark , narrow passage , stood a woman with veiled face , a shawl muffling the upper part of her body . Since six o'clock she had been waiting about the spot , occasionally walking to a short distance , but always keeping her face turned towards the door . One or two persons came up and entered ; she observed them , but held aloof . Another drew near . The woman advanced , and , as she did so , freed one of her arms from the shawl .