midnight
CARL LINSTRUM . Alexandra put her head down on the dresser and burst into tears . The next afternoon Carl and Alexandra were walking across the fields from Mrs. Hiller 's . Alexandra had left Lincoln after midnight , and Carl had met her at the Hanover station early in the morning . After they reached home , Alexandra had gone over to Mrs. Hiller 's to leave a little present she had bought for her in the city . They stayed at the old lady 's door but a moment , and then came out to spend the rest of the afternoon in the sunny fields . Alexandra had taken off her black traveling suit and put on a white dress ; partly because she saw that her black clothes made Carl uncomfortable and partly because she felt oppressed by them herself .