six in the
morning
Other nurses were there now , capped , aproned , quickly and silently unpacking their appliances ... . She must call a halt , clear her brain again , decide rapidly what was to be done next ... . Oh , if only the crawling hours could bring Amherst ! It was strange that there was no telegram yet -- no , not strange , after all , since it was barely six in the morning , and her message had not been despatched till seven the night before . It was not unlikely that , in that little southern settlement , the telegraph office closed at six . She stood in Bessy 's sitting-room , her forehead pressed to the window-pane , her eyes straining out into the thin February darkness , through which the morning star swam white . As soon as she had yielded her place to the other nurses her nervous tension relaxed , and she hung again above the deeps of anguish , terrified and weak .