One o'clock
Early in the night it has been dark ; now there is a brilliant moonlight . But no man , no form moving underneath it . No sound of coming feet ; nothing that resembles a footfall . One o'clock , and still silence ; to the mother of Charles Clancy become oppressive , as with increased anxiety she watches and waits . At intervals she glances at the little `` Connecticut '' clock that ticks over the mantel . A pedlar 's thing , it may be false , as the men who come south selling `` sech . '' It is the reflection of a Southern woman , hoping her conjecture may be true .