nine
o'clock
It gave him something , however trivial , to think about besides the peril of a woman who looked like motherhood incarnate , and so should have been heir to all the worship and chivalry of men . With the first light he was up and had built his fire , and Charlotte , hearing him , got , sooner than was her wont , out of her warm bed . Charlotte owned to liking to `` lay a spell '' in winter , to make up for the early activities of summer mornings when you must be `` up ` fore light '' to keep pace with the day . For after nine o'clock `` the day 's ` most gone . '' She looked up at him as he came into the kitchen where she was brashing her fire for a quick oven , and he found her eyes clearly worried in their questioning . `` No toast , Charlotte , '' he said . He wondered if even his voice was trembling in his haste .