two o'clock
It was after the dishes of the midday meal were washed that she bethought her of the old shrine back near the woods . It was many a day since she had been there -- not since the autumn before -- and she felt old and different , but still she had a sudden desire to return to it and try again the mystic rite she had practised when she was a little girl . It was like going back to play , to be sure ; all the sacredness was gone , but the interest remained , and her yearning spurred her to her only resource . At two o'clock Nathaniel was off to a distant field , and Theodora announced that she must walk to the village for a bit of `` erranding . '' She wanted Priscilla to join her , thinking it would please the girl , but Priscilla shook her head and pleaded a weariness that was more mental than physical . At three o'clock , arrayed in a fresh gown , over which hung a red cape , Priscilla stole from the house and made her way to the opening near the woods . As she drew close the power of suggestion overcame the new sense of age and indifference ; the witchery of the place held her ; the old charm reasserted itself ; she was being hypnotized by the Past .