nine o'clock
`` They are going to the mountains , '' Ulv said some time later , as the tracks still pointed straight ahead . `` There are caves there and many magter have been seen near them ; that is what I have heard . '' The guess was correct . Before nine o'clock the ground humped into a range of foothills , and the darker masses of mountains could be seen behind them , rising up to obscure the stars . `` Stop the car here , '' Ulv said , `` The caves begin not too far ahead . There may be magter watching or listening , so we must go quietly . '' Brion followed the deep-cut grooves , carrying the radio .