About midnight
It was a miserable , forlorn world all of a sudden to Flaxie , and she had never known such `` a mean old night , '' even if it was `` the night before Christmas . '' The lamp burning dimly in the corner of the room , on the floor , cast shadows that frightened her ; her head ached ; she woke the baby in the crib by crying , and then he woke everybody else . It was a `` mean old night '' to the whole house ; and when I say the _ whole _ house , I mean both halves of it . About midnight , as Mrs. Hunter was sleeping sweetly , her door-bell rang a furious peal . Nobody likes to hear such a sound at dead of night , and Mrs. Hunter trembled a little , for she was all alone with her children ; but she rose and dressed as fast as possible , and went down-stairs with a lamp . `` Who is it ? '' she asked , through the keyhole .