nine
o'clock
When evening came , the family were assembled , as usual , in a cheerful corner room ; no stranger was present , and the mother constrained herself to talk about all sorts of cheerful subjects . The colonel began -LRB- as was his habit , when in specially good humour -RRB- to carry on an encounter of wit with the old French lady , in which Augusta , the elder of the daughters , aided and abetted him . Everybody was laughing , and more full of enjoyment than ever . The clock on the wall struck eight -LRB- so that it was really nine o'clock -RRB- and Adelgunda fell back in her chair , pale as death ; her work dropped from her hands ; she rose , with a face of horror , stared before her into the empty part of the room , and murmured , in a hollow voice -- '' ' `` What ! an hour earlier ! Do n't you see it ? Do n't you see it ?