About half after three o'clock
First , however , she carefully examined the latch on her kitchen door . Now this latch had a bad habit of locking itself if the door was closed quickly . Mrs. McGuire tried it and found it would do this every time , and with this she seemed quite satisfied . About half after three o'clock Mary came and began to set the little house in order . When this was done Mrs. McGuire asked her if she would make her a few buttermilk biscuits , she had been wishing for them all day . When she saw Mary safely in the kitchen her heart began to beat . Now if the minister was at home , the thing was as good as done .