four
o'clock
Now , sir , watch out ! I 'm coming after you in good earnest ! '' As it happened no one intruded upon the drive to church . When four o'clock came around Bip had taken Mac down on the creek with Bob and Mesmie , to hunt under the stones for crawfish . The Colonel disappeared shortly after dinner for his nap , and Brent sat alone under the trees indulging several rather curious speculations . His eyes were closed , though in no sense was he sleepy . He was thinking of a force ; a new , an entirely new force ; a perplexing force that each day more determinedly gripped and held him .