about
five o'clock
This was Polly 's first impression of `` the lady in black , '' and thus began an acquaintance which was destined before many months to play a very important part in Polly 's fortunes and misfortunes . What the lady in black thought of Polly , then and subsequently , was told at her own fireside , where she sat , some six weeks later , chatting over an after-dinner cup of coffee with her brother-in-law . `` Take the armchair , John , '' said Mrs. Bird ; `` for I have ` lots to tell you , ' as the young folks say . I was in the Children 's Hospital about five o'clock to-day . I have n't been there for three months , and I felt guilty about it . The matron asked me to go upstairs into the children 's sitting-room , the one Donald and I fitted up in memory of Carol . She said that a young lady was telling stories to the children , but that I might go right up and walk in .