midnight
`` We 'll get Fan and baby to bed , and then we 'll see about hanging our cards somewheres . They 'll not fetch anything at the pop-shop , so mammie wo n't be carrying 'em off , that 's one comfort . '' The three cards were presently hung up , affording a strange contrast to the begrimed and broken walls ; and then the wearied children crept into their corners , and , on the rags which alone separated them from the floor , they slept the sleep of innocence and childhood . There was a staggering step on the broken stairs at midnight , and at the familiar sound Mattie woke , and drew her baby brother closer to her protecting arms . The door was pushed noisily open , and some one stumbled across the room , muttering : `` Where 's them brats , I wonder ? '' Mattie held her breath , and a moment later she heard a roll on the floor , and knew that her miserable mother would lie where she had fallen in drunken slumber until the morning . As for her father , he was seldom able to mount the stairs ; but , if he came home at all , lay at the foot , until aroused in the morning by his landlady 's shrill tones , and ordered to seek his own room .