four o'clock
Even the air he breathed was heavy with the oppression of death and broken hopes . He found it difficult to swallow the food he had cooked , though he had eaten nothing since morning . When he was done he looked at his watch . It was four o'clock . The northern sun had dropped behind the distant forests and was followed now by the thickening gloom of early evening . For a few moments Billy stood motionless outside the cabin . Behind him an owl hooted its lonely mating-song .