three o'clock
Noon came and went . The fire was out , and dinner , apparently , was as distant as it had been two hours before . Jared fell asleep in his hard chair , his dishevelled head lying on his arms folded on the bare table . When he awoke it was three o'clock and Joyce stood before him . She was very white , and the drawn look was still in evidence . She wore a blue-and-white checked gown ; short and scant it was , but daintily fresh and sweet . She had her poor little best hat on -- a hat with a bunch of roses on the side -- and she carried a large basket in her hand .