Mrs. Whatsit explains that she glories in nights of such wild weather, but that tonight she has been blown off course in the storm. Charles asks her why she stole bed-sheets from Mrs. Buncombe, confirming Meg's suspicion that Mrs. Whatsit is the neighborhood tramp. After removing her boots and drying her feet, Mrs. Whatsit suddenly remarks that "there is such a thing as a tesseract" and then hurries out the door. Mrs. Murry stands very still at the threshold, stunned by Mrs. Whatsit's parting words.