nearly nine
o'clock
One evening , about the middle of June , when he had been over to the allotments , Easton brought her home a bunch of flowers that Harlow had given him -- some red and white roses and some pansies . When he came in , Ruth was packing his food basket for the next day . The baby was asleep in its cot on the floor near the window . Although it was nearly nine o'clock the lamp had not yet been lighted and the mournful twilight that entered the room through the open window increased the desolation of its appearance . The fire had burnt itself out and the grate was filled with ashes . On the hearth was an old rug made of jute that had once been printed in bright colours which had faded away till the whole surface had become almost uniformly drab , showing scarcely any trace of the original pattern . The rest of the floor was bare except for two or three small pieces of old carpet that Ruth had bought for a few pence at different times at some inferior second-hand shop .