five o'clock
It was sufficient , however , to set all of them a-wondering . But no shadow of suspicion had ever before crossed their minds , and they soon dismissed the suggestion as one more distorted ridiculous romance from the fertile brain of Jim Langford . The whimpering Stitchy -- like most of his kind ; never a hero when alone -- was secured in the same way as Red had been , then the men hunters continued to the top of the hill , where , as soon as dawn came up , a good view would be had of the single road as it wound , snake-like , for half a mile on the incline . `` It is five o'clock , '' remarked Jim . `` With no mishaps , they should be here any time now . '' The seven men distributed themselves in the ditches and bushes -- three on one side and four on the other , at intervals of ten yards , covering a distance of seventy yards in all . As they lay there in the ditches by the roadside , the early morning air bit sharp and chilly , having a touch of frost in it -- the harbinger of colder weather to come -- but still retaining a dampness that searched into the marrow .