midnight
repeated Mr. Slocum , half aloud ; and then with a swift , unconscious gesture , he pressed his hands over his ears , as if to shut out the words . Margaret must be told . It would be like stabbing her to tell her all this . Mr. Slocum had lain awake long after midnight , appalled by the calamity that was about to engulf them . At moments , as his thought reverted to Margaret 's illness early in the spring , he felt that perhaps it would have been a mercy if she had died then . He had left the candles burning ; it was not until the wicks sunk down in the sockets and went softly out that slumber fell upon him . He was now sitting at the breakfast-table , absently crumbling bits of bread beside his plate and leaving his coffee untouched .