eight o'clock
You might just as well be particular , Jerry . '' `` Come , Jerry , tell us how you know when the Indians passed ? '' said I. `` Sartin I will , '' he good-humoredly replied . `` Yer see we hed a purty hevy dew last night , but the sun waz up so high that the grass waz all dry at eight o'clock . Wall , now , if you 'll look you 'll see , that where the grass was pressed down by the horses ' feet into the earth , a little of the sand stuck to it , -LRB- coz it waz damp -RRB- , that has dried on since . Now if the trail bed been made after eight o'clock , when the grass was dry , why , it would n't stick eny more than it does now . '' `` A very satisfactory explanation , '' said I. `` Now what I propose is , '' continued Jerry , `` thet we just foller the trail , and we 'll strike something afore many hours , ez sure 's my name 's Jerry Vance . ''