half after five
The corners of the house creaked as if the freezing wind were knocking to be let in . All the bushes and trees were covered with such thick coats of snow and rim frost they looked quite shapeless . But bushes and trees , like humans , had to clothe themselves as well as they could , in order to be protected against the cold . In a little while Katrina observed : `` I see by the clock it 's only half after five , but all the same I 'll put on the porridge pot and prepare the evening meal . After supper , you can sit up and wait for Prästberg or go to bed , whichever you like . '' All this time Jan had stood at the window . `` It ca n't be that he has come this way without my seeing him ? ''