nearly three o'clock
`` I mean it , '' said Gratton . `` Listen . The new day has already started . By the time the ferry lands us in Oakland it will be nearly three o'clock . I 've got to drive up into the country ; we 'll phone your mother and will start right away . We 'll get there long before noon ; we 'll be back before night . It would mean only a day 's outing and no harm done .