nine o'clock
Knowing that days , weeks , and even months might pass while I consorted with motors and mules , far from valets and civilisation , I was nevertheless toward enough to hint that Locker must be prepared for a wire at any time . I had often derived a quaint pleasure from the consciousness that he despised my bookish habits and certain unconventionalities not suited to a ` hearl ' ; but one must draw the line somewhere , and I drew it at the mule . I would give a good deal rather than Locker should suspect me of the mule . It was arranged that we should leave from Jack 's house in Park Lane , and as we wanted to reach Southampton early , our start was to be at nine o'clock . `` In France , '' Jack had said to me , `` we could reel off the distance almost as quickly as the train ; but in our blessed land , with its twenty miles an hour speed limit , its narrow winding roads , chiefly used in country places as children 's playgrounds , and its police traps , motoring is n't the undiluted joy it ought to be . The thing to prepare for is the unexpected . '' At half-past eight at Jack 's door , I bade an almost affectionate farewell to the last cabhorse with which for many wild weeks I should have business dealings .