nine o'clock
As she thought , her fears grew greater and her memory of the hospital rules less and less . She determined at any risk to try and see Lawson that evening . It would be impossible for her to venture down into the central hall of the hospital , but she knew for certain that he would come into the ward again late that evening . Sister Kate would be off duty at nine o'clock , and Sister Alice , the night superintendent , was not nearly so strict . Effie hovered about near the door ; she knew she was disobeying rules , for she ought to have gone to bed soon after nine o'clock . No one noticed her , however . The night nurses were all busy taking up their different duties , and Sister Alice was talking to the house physician at the farther end of the ward .