about six o'clock
I then turned for a couple of hundred yards to my right , at right angles to the track , where some huge rocks were lying -- fallen ages since from the mountain that flanked this side of the valley . Here I deposited my knapsack in a hollow underneath some of the rocks , and put a good sized stone in front of it , for I meant spending a couple of days with the shepherd to let the river go down . Moreover , as it was now only December 3 , I had too much time on my hands , but I had not dared to cut things finer . I reached the hut at about six o'clock , and introduced myself to the shepherd , who was a nice , kind old man , commonly called Harris , but his real name he told me was Horace -- Horace Taylor . I had the conversation with him of which I have already told the reader , adding that my father had been unable to give a coherent account of what he had seen , and that I had been sent to get the information he had failed to furnish . The old man said that I must certainly wait a couple of days before I went higher up the river . He had made himself a nice garden , in which he took the greatest pride , and which supplied him with plenty of vegetables .