nearly five o'clock
I was not present at the council of war thus hurriedly convened ; I was merely informed when they returned that we were all to `` hurry on . '' My best evening pumps have never recovered the subsequent proceedings . They , with my swelled and aching feet inside them , were raced down one filthy lane after another , until , somewhere on the outskirts of Drumcurran , Flurry pushed open the gate of a yard and went in . It was nearly five o'clock on that raw December morning ; low down in the sky a hazy moon shed a diffused light ; all the surrounding houses were still and dark . At our footsteps an angry bark or two came from inside the stable . `` Whisht ! '' said Flurry , `` I 'll say a word to them before I open the door . ''