seven o'clock
He had some difficulty in unbarring the door , but succeeded after many endeavours . Though it was an April morning the air was very raw and bleak at this early hour , and the boy shivered repeatedly . At a coffee-stall in an adjoining street he bought a thick slice of bread and butter and a steaming cup of what was called tea , sweet and strong , if not particularly fragrant . Fortified by such nourishment against the biting air , he inquired of the first policeman he met the nearest way to the station , and reached it soon after seven o'clock . There was an hour and a half to wait before his train started , but he sat down on a sheltered bench and remained an unnoticed little figure till the train drew up . At about the same hour Mr. Colquhoun was crossing the border in a southern express in pursuit of the runaway . It was the same steamer that Jeff had come home in two years ago .