midnight
To be alone , to lie still and rest , to banish thought , -- that was all she desired . She lay on her bed inert , numbed , all but her mind , and that traversed section by section in swift , consecutive progress all the amazing turns of her life since she first came to Roaring Lake . There was neither method nor inquiry in this back-casting -- merely a ceaseless , involuntary activity of the brain . A little after midnight when all the house was hushed , she went into the adjoining room , cuddled Jack Junior into her arms , and took him to her own bed . With his chubby face nestled against her breast , she lay there fighting against that interminable , maddening buzzing in her brain . She prayed for sleep , her nervous fingers stroking the silky , baby hair . One can only suffer so much .