eight o'clock
But only for a very short time , '' she added ; `` a very short time . '' `` It will not take five minutes , '' said Troy . The hill opposite Bathsheba 's dwelling extended , a mile off , into an uncultivated tract of land , dotted at this season with tall thickets of brake fern , plump and diaphanous from recent rapid growth , and radiant in hues of clear and untainted green . At eight o'clock this midsummer evening , whilst the bristling ball of gold in the west still swept the tips of the ferns with its long , luxuriant rays , a soft brushing-by of garments might have been heard among them , and Bathsheba appeared in their midst , their soft , feathery arms caressing her up to her shoulders . She paused , turned , went back over the hill and half-way to her own door , whence she cast a farewell glance upon the spot she had just left , having resolved not to remain near the place after all . She saw a dim spot of artificial red moving round the shoulder of the rise . It disappeared on the other side .