five o'clock
As the first streaks of dawn appeared , the wind died away , and the young leaves on the trees were almost silent . The birds were insistently clamorous , vociferating times without number that it was a healthy spring morning and good to be alive . A little , bedraggled crowd stood before the park gates , awaiting the hour named on the notice board when they would be admitted to such lodging and shelter as iron seats and overspreading branches might afford . A weary , patient-eyed , dogged crowd -- a dozen men , a boy of thirteen , and a couple of women , both past middle age -- which had been gathering slowly since five o'clock . The boy appeared to be the least uncomfortable . His feet were bare , but he had slept well in an area in Grosvenor Place , and was not very damp yet . The women had nodded on many doorsteps , and were soaked .