eight o'clock
And very valuable was the help thus afforded for within a mile the Ford had banged and snuffled itself to a standstill and twenty minutes were lost draining the tank and blotting up the rust coloured drops from the bottom of the float chamber . Both Dirk and Bolt were in favour of returning to the house in order to conduct a punitive campaign , but Harrison Smith would not hear of this . `` We must push the damn car all we know how , '' he said , Working feverishly at the union of the induction pipe with a spanner that did n't fit . `` If we have n't caught up with them by eight o'clock I shall drop Bolt at a post office and he must get through to the Chief . '' `` What , the Dutchman ? '' `` No choice . It 's infernal luck , but better that than let him get through with the thing . ''