ten minutes to nine before
Only it was hard for the child to dovetail the two halves of her life . At night she must sit up as late as her elders , poring over her school books , and in the morning it was a fierce rush to get through her share of the housework in time for the red mark . In Mrs. Beckenstein 's language : ` Do n't eat , do n't sleep , boil nor bake , stew nor roast , nor fry , nor nothing . ' Her case was even worse than her mother imagined , for sometimes it was ten minutes to nine before Bloomah could sit down to her own breakfast , and then the steaming cup of tea served by her mother was a terrible hindrance ; and if that good woman 's head was turned , Bloomah would sneak towards the improvised sink -- which consisted of two dirty buckets , the one holding the clean water being recognisable by the tin pot standing on its covering-board -- where she would pour half her tea into the one bucket and fill up from the other . When this stratagem was impossible , she almost scalded herself in her gulpy haste . Then how she snatched up her satchel and ran through rain , or snow , or fog , or scorching sunshine ! Yet often she lost her breath without gaining her mark , and as she cowered tearfully under the angry eyes of the classroom , a stab at her heart was added to the stitch in her side .