seven o'clock
cried Bob , when the faithful fellow , in the exuberance of his joy on seeing his young master come out of the house , leaped up and licked his face , preventing him from closing the door properly as he was about to do . `` Behave yourself , sir ! '' Rover , however , thought there were different ways of `` behaving himself , '' the chief in his estimation being to show his affection to those who were kind to him , whom he loved with all the intensity of his great canine heart ; and so , ranking obedience to orders as only second to this potent law of his life , he frisked and jumped and playfully tousled Bob until he finally made him start at a swinging trot for the beach , the frolicsome retriever galloping in advance one moment , the next stopping in his mad career onward to give out a loud bark and wag his tail in encouragement to his master to try and catch him up , if he could ! Bob bent his steps towards the coastguard-station on the eastern side of the sea-wall , near the new pier , which was the regular meeting-place for him and Dick every morning for their bathe ; and here , punctually at `` six Bells , '' or seven o'clock , he found on the present occasion his fellow - swimmer along with the Captain . The latter , he could hear as he approached , was having an animated discussion with Hellyer , the chief boatman , on the subject of torpedoes , which Hellyer believed in , but which the Captain utterly pooh-poohed , saying that in his opinion they were of little , if any , use in naval warfare . He was laying down the law with great unction when Bob came up to them . `` Do n't tell me , '' he cried , `` of your ` whitehead ' going twenty knots an hour and exploding its charge of gun-cotton under a ship 's bottom ; for , where and what would those on board the ship be doing all the time -- standing still , I suppose , to be shot at and doing nothing in their own defence ? ''