midnight
Mrs. Carteret was very much disturbed . It was supposed that the shock of her aunt 's death had affected her health , for since that event she had fallen into a nervous condition which gave the major grave concern . Much to the general surprise , Mrs. Ochiltree had left no will , and no property of any considerable value except her homestead , which descended to Mrs. Carteret as the natural heir . Whatever she may have had on hand in the way of ready money had undoubtedly been abstracted from the cedar chest by the midnight marauder , to whose visit her death was immediately due . Her niece 's grief was held to mark a deep-seated affection for the grim old woman who had reared her . Mrs. Carteret 's present state of mind , of which her nervousness was a sufficiently accurate reflection , did in truth date from her aunt 's death , and also in part from the time of the conversation with Mrs. Ochiltree , one afternoon , during and after the drive past Miller 's new hospital . Mrs. Ochiltree had grown steadily more and more childish after that time , and her niece had never succeeded in making her pick up the thread of thought where it had been dropped .