nearly midday
`` I never towd anybody about it ; I wur a bit ashamed , I reckon , but I have prayed twenty times a day . '' `` Then , '' said Tom , `` let us kneel down and thank God for His goodness . '' And the three knelt down together . It was nearly midday when Tom awoke . The church bells had ceased ringing for nearly an hour , indeed at nearly all the churches the congregations were being dismissed . The Town Hall clock chimed a quarter to twelve , but all else seemed strangely silent . Tom rose in his bed , and rubbed his eyes .