midnight
Mr. Hamlin had not yet come in . Yet she must find out what had happened to Ruth , Mollie and Grace . Bab once thought of starting out alone and on foot , back up the long country road , but she gave up the idea as sheer foolishness . At that moment the grandfather 's clock in the hall chimed midnight . Almost two hours had passed since the two automobiles had entered Alexandria , and the little town was only eight miles from Washington . Bab felt she was going to cry before Harriet 's guests . She slipped her hand in her pocket to find her handkerchief .