two o'clock
Come , be good now , '' she petted . `` And you really must go to bed , Laura . It 's past twelve o'clock , and that infernal machine 'll be going off before you 've had any sleep at all . '' The `` machine '' was Laura 's alarum , which ran down every night just now at two o'clock . For , if one thing was sure , it was that affairs with Laura were in a sorry muddle . In this , the last and most momentous year of her school life , at the close of which , like a steep wall to be scaled , rose the university examination , she was behindhand with her work , and occupied a mediocre place in her class . So steadfastly was her attention pitched on Evelyn that she could link it to nothing else : in the middle of an important task , her thoughts would stray to contemplate her friend or wonder what she was doing ; while , if Evelyn were out for the evening , Laura gave up her meagre pretence of study altogether , and moodily propped her head in her hand .