six o'clock in the morning
Among these accessories the significance of her face retreated to a point vague and distant , its lightly-pencilled lines seemed half erased . She made no demand for admiration on this occasion , she seemed sufficiently satisfied with herself ; but after a time when they were sitting together on the sofa , and he still pursued the lines of her garment with questioning eyes , she recalled him to the conventionalities of the situation . `` You need n't be afraid of mussing it , '' she said . The ship she took her departure in sailed from its jetty in the river at six o'clock in the morning . Preparations for her comfort had been completed over night ; indeed she slept on board , and Duff had only the duty and the sentiment of actual parting in the morning . He found her in a sequestered corner of the fresh swabbed quarter-deck . She wore her Army clothes -- she had come on board in one of the muslins -- and she was softly crying .