quarter past eleven
As these suspicions assailed him , he turned to Sydney and touched the spur to his gray . The girl responded to his look , and they set into the steady gallop that covers much country with but little effort either to horse or rider . Sydney held out her watch for Bob to see . It was quarter past eleven . Nearly five miles lay before them to the foot of the mountain , and to the summit there was a long , steep mile and a half which was the time-consumer to be reckoned with . A mile beyond the post-office they turned from the State Road into a less-travelled , and hence rougher , side road . Through a stretch of sandy mud they breathed the horses again , and then on , on , on to the big hill whose vast bulk was beginning to tower mightily before them .