six o'clock
Soon he was out of sight and hearing of the village , travelling in a network of empty watercourses , till at length he came to the long side of mountain which he knew of old as the first landmark of the way . A thin ray of hope began to break up his despair . He knew now the exact distance he had to travel , for his gift had always been an infallible instinct for the lie of a countryside . The sun was still high in the heavens ; with any luck he should be at Nazri by six o'clock . He was still sore with wounded pride . That Marker should have divined his weakness and left open to him a task in which he might rest with a cheap satisfaction was bitter to his vanity . The candour of his mind made him grant its truth , but his new-born confidence was sadly dissipated .