five o'clock
Mrs. Montgomery was now awake and asked for the reading again , and for three-quarters of an hour Ellen and she were quietly busy with the Bible . Nancy meanwhile was downstairs washing the dairy things . When her grandmother released her Ellen had to go up to wait upon her aunt ; after which she went into the buttery and skimmed the cream , and got the pans ready for the evening milk . By this time it was five o'clock , and Nancy came in with the basket of dry clothes , at which Ellen looked with the sorrowful consciousness that they must be sprinkled and folded by-and-by , and ironed to-morrow . It happened , however , that Jane Huff came in just then with a quantity of hot short-cake for tea , and seeing the basket , she very kindly took the business of sprinkling and folding upon herself . This gave Ellen spirits to carry out a plan she had long had , to delight the whole family with some eggs scrambled in Margery 's fashion ; after the milk was strained and put away she went about it , while Nancy set the table . A nice bed of coals was prepared ; the spider set over them , the eggs broken in , peppered and salted , and she began carefully to stir them as she had seen Margery do .