ten o'clock
Uncle and the landlord and the coachman had set off with lanterns , and the landlady was trying to persuade Auntie that there was not _ really _ anything to be afraid of ; neither bears , nor wolves , nor evilly-disposed people about : the little young lady had , doubtless , fallen asleep in the wood with the heat and fatigue of the day ; which , as you know , was a very good guess , though the landlady little imagined what queer places and people Olive had been visiting in her sleep . The dwarf was a well-known person thereabouts , and a very harmless , kindly little man . A present of a couple of marks sent him off to his cottage near by very happy indeed , and when Uncle returned a few minutes later to see if the wanderer had been heard of , you can imagine how thankful he was to find her . It was not so _ very _ late after all , not above half-past ten o'clock , but a thunderstorm which came on not long after explained the unusual darkness of the cloud-covered sky . '' _ What _ a good thing you were safe before the storm came on ! '' said Auntie , with a shudder at the thought of the dangers her darling had escaped . `` I will take care never again to carry my jokes too far , '' she resolved , when Olive had confided to her the real motive of her wanderings in the wood .