There ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn, and with earth on his head.
The progression in the revelation regarding Eli's blindness also indicates the lapse of a considerable time period.  At the time of Samuel's call to the prophecy, Eli's eyesight was failing.  The episode here came when he was totally blind.  Evidently, a number of years might have passed, and Samuel had probably reached maturity at this point.