four o'clock
Into this he climbed , and curling himself up like a carriage-dog , endeavored to sleep ; but , unable to endure the constraint of such a bed , got out , and stretched himself on the bare boards of the floor . No sooner was light in the east than he fastened to await the commands of one who , his instinct told him , was destined to prove his benefactor . On his father 's farm accustomed to rise with the lark , Israel was surprised to discover , as he approached the house , that no soul was astir . It was four o'clock . For a considerable time he walked back and forth before the portal ere any one appeared . The first riser was a man servant of the household , who informed Israel that seven o'clock was the hour the people went to their work . Soon after he met an hostler of the place , who gave him permission to lie on some straw in an outhouse .