two o'clock
That was his plain of Troy , his Field of Cressy , his lists of Ashby de la Zouche . The high road at the back of the towans crossed a stream , by a ford and a footbridge ; and the travelling postman , if he had any letters for the Parsonage , would stop by the footbridge and blow a horn . He little guessed what challenges it sounded to the small boy who came running for the post . The postman came by , as a rule , at two o'clock or thereabouts . One afternoon in early spring Mr. Raymond happened to be starting for a walk when the horn was blown , and he and Taffy went to meet the post together . There were three or four letters which the Vicar opened ; and one for Humility , which he put in his pocket . In the midst of his reading , he looked up , smiled over his spectacles , and said : `` Oxford has won the boat-race . ''