four in
the morning
So she had to give that up ; and then she wondered if there were anything the matter with her , as she had read about people who heard noises when there was really nothing at all . But that would n't do either , because though it might account for the whistling , it would n't account for the dandelion or the Sandpiper , or for fainting fits that turned purple , or any of uncle 's queerness . So aunt said she could think of nothing but to read the Bible every day from the beginning , and by the time she got into Chronicles she felt rather better , especially as nothing had happened for three or four Sundays . She noticed uncle seemed absent-minded , and not as nice to her as he might be , but she put that down to too much work , as he never came home before the last train , and had a hansom twice all the way , getting there between three and four in the morning . Still , she felt it was no good bothering her head over what could n't be made out or explained anyway , and she was just settling down , when one Sunday evening it began all over again , and worse things happened . The whistling followed them just as it did before , and poor aunt set her teeth and said nothing to uncle , as she knew he would only tell her stories , and they were walking on , not saying a word , when something made her look back , and there was a horrible boy with red hair , peeping through the hedge just behind , and grinning . She said it was a dreadful face , with something unnatural about it , as if it had been a dwarf , and before she had time to have a good look , it popped back like lightning , and aunt all but fainted away . '