At nine the servants assembled at the supper-table.

They were all downstairs together, talking, and waiting for their meal.
Feeling the necessity of arriving at the place of meeting, in time to keep out of the Sergeant's way, Iris assumed her disguise as the clock struck nine.

She left the house without a living creature to notice her, indoors or out.

Clouds were gathering over the sky.

The waning moon was only to be seen at intervals, as she set forth on her way to the milestone.
VI THE wind rose a little, and the rifts in the clouds began to grow broader as Iris gained the high road.
For a while, the glimmer of the misty moonlight lit the way before her.
As well as she could guess, she had passed over more than half of the distance between the town and the milestone before the sky darkened again.