two o'clock
After passing the crest of the hill , the land sloped gradually down to the eastern end of Tuffkenamon valley , which terminates at the ridge upon which Kennett Square stands . Below him , on the right , lay the field and hedge , across which he and Fortune -LRB- he wondered what had become of the man -RRB- had followed the chase ; and before him , on the level , rose the stately trees of the wood which was to be his trysting-place . It was a sweet , peaceful scene , and but for the under-current of trouble upon which all his sensations floated , he could have recognized the beauty and the bliss of human life , which such golden days suggest . It was scarcely yet two o'clock , and he watched the smooth field nearest the village for full three-quarters of an hour , before his sharp eyes could detect any moving form upon its surface . To impatience succeeded doubt , to doubt , at its most cruel height , a shock of certainty . Betsy Lavender and Martha Deane had entered the field at the bottom , and , concealed behind the hedge of black-thorn , had walked half-way to the wood before he discovered them , by means of a lucky break in the hedge . With breathless haste he descended the slope , entered the wood at its lower edge , and traversed the tangled thickets of dogwood and haw , until he gained the foot-path , winding through the very heart of the shade .