three o'clock
Would they catch him ? I hoped so , but I doubted . At the station Pan-Chao explained matters to the stationmaster , who telegraphed for an engine to be sent from Tai-Youan to the Nanking line . At three o'clock , just at daybreak , we returned to wait for the engine at the junction . Three-quarters of an hour afterwards its whistle announced its approach , and it stopped at the bifurcation of the lines . We climbed up on to the tender , and half an hour later had rejoined the train . The dawn had come on sufficiently for us to be able to see over a considerable distance .