four
o'clock
Then Tom put his arms round me again and kissed me -- his cross humours never lasted long ; not like Racey 's , who , though he was generally very good , once he _ did _ begin , went on and on and on till one did n't know what to do with him . `` I 'm very sorry for calling you cross , Audrey , '' he said . `` Perhaps we 'd better wait and ask mother about it , '' and then we both kissed each other again , and somehow , though we were so very wide awake , all in a moment we went to sleep again and slept a good long while . For Pierson told us afterwards that what Tom had heard striking was only four o'clock after all . When we woke again it was _ real _ morning -- quite bright and sunny . And mother was standing beside the bedside , and little Racey beside her , looking very smooth and shiny with his clean pinafore and clean face and freshly brushed hair . Till I looked close at mother 's face I could have fancied that all the strange news I had heard the night before had been a dream -- it did not seem the least possible that it could be true .