three o'clock
`` I suppose you do n't want me , Mr. Paine ? '' said Robert . `` I do want you , particularly , '' said the lawyer . Our hero wondered a little why his presence was required , but dismissed the matter from his mind , until three o'clock found him in the lawyer 's office . `` Gentlemen , '' said the lawyer , `` I am about to read the last will and testament of our neighbor , Paul Nichols , recently deceased . '' This preamble created surprise , for this was the first intimation that such a will was in existence . The document was brief , and the substance of it was contained in the following paragraph : `` Having no near relatives , except Benjamin Haley , for whom I have neither regard nor affection , and who , moreover , has recently stolen a considerable sum of money from me , I leave all of which I may die possessed , whether in land or money , to my brave young friend , Robert Rushton , who courageously defended me from my said nephew , at his own bodily risk , and I hope he may live long to enjoy the property I bequeath him . ''