ten o'clock
If I had needed any disguise beyond these clothes it would have been provided for me by the ragged growth of beard on my face and the unkempt hair that had not felt a comb since I left the roof of Cal Marcus . I smiled to myself as I made my exit by the broken porch and thought what his reflections at the moment must be . He was doubtless recalling his own explicit directions for reaching the court-house door . It was now between nine and ten o'clock . If I hurried there might still be time . The town which I had seen only once before came into view as soon as I had reached the high road and made the first turn , but I was terrified to see in the distance two horsemen jogging along in leisurely approach . I scrambled across the rail fence and lay close to the earth waiting for them to pass and grudging the flight of each priceless minute .