midnight
`` I hope so , Dolly , '' said Bessie . `` I would n't have done it myself , but I really am beginning to think that maybe it was the best thing that could have happened . Thunderstorms clear the air sometimes ; perhaps this will have the same effect . '' It was well after midnight when the girls were awakened by loud knocking below . `` Oh , that 's some trick of theirs , '' said Dolly , sleepily , and turned over again . But a few minutes later Eleanor 's voice , calling them , took them downstairs in a hurry . They found her talking to Miss Brown , who was in tears .