half
after eight
The Limited was ripping through forested land . She could see now and then tall treetops limned against the starlit sky . The ceaseless roar of the trucks and the buzz of conversation in the car irritated her . At half after eight she called the porter and had him arrange her section for the night . And she got into bed , thankful to be by herself , depressed without reason . She slept for a time , her sleep broken into by morbid dreams , and eventually she wakened to find her eyes full of tears . She did not know why she should cry , but cry she did till her pillow grew moist -- and the heavy feeling in her breast grew , if anything , more intense .