four in the morning
Hitherto he had been entirely alone in his anxiety . It was between three and four when he reached Gangoil , and he found that the party of horsemen had just entered the yard before him . The sugar planter was so weak that he could hardly get off his horse . The two ladies were still watching when the cavalcade arrived , though it was then between three and four in the morning . It was Harry 's custom on such occasions to ride up to the little gate close to the veranda , and there to hang his bridle till some one should take his horse away ; but on this occasion he and the others rode into the yard . Seeing this , Mrs. Heathcote and her sister went through the house , and soon learned how things were . Mr. Medlicot , from the mill , had come with a bone broken , and it was their duty to nurse him till a doctor could be procured from Maryborough .