nine o'clock
And she paused for a moment , looking up and down the road , as if in despite of her husband 's command she had the desperate idea of running away to some neighbour . But she was too loyal for that , and smothering a sigh she retreated into the house . As she did so the first flakes fell of the storm that was not to have come till morning . It took her an hour to get her kitchen in order , and nine o'clock struck before she was ready to sit down . She had been so busy she had not noticed how the wind had increased or how rapidly the snow was falling . But when she went to the front door for another glance up and down the road she started back , appalled at the fierceness of the gale and at the great pile of snow that had already accumulated on the doorstep . Too delicate to breast such a wind , she saw herself robbed of her last hope of any companionship , and sighing heavily she locked and bolted the door for the night and went back into her little sitting-room , where a great fire was burning .