four o’clock
The road was covered with vehicles , and packed as we neared Madrid ; for every soul not bidden to the great bull-fight wished to see the favoured ones who were , and to applaud the King and Queen who by their splendid courage two days before had won double popularity . It was almost beyond endurance to be caught in the pack , and to know that there was no way out , except to move with the throng ; nevertheless , it had to be endured . And time went on . We had hoped to run into some hole or corner as near as might be to the royal entrance of the Plaza de Toros , before the crowd began to pour in ; but an hour struck as we crept into the great sunlit plaza -- four o'clock ; the time appointed for the pageant to begin . Hundreds -- thousands , it seemed -- of automobiles and carriages were before us ; and as the Gloria was stopped by the stopping of others in front , a shout rang up to the sky , from behind the high brown walls of the bull-ring . It was the welcome which the public gave their King and his bride as they appeared in the royal box . We were too late to intercept Carmona ; for as the royalties had taken their places , he was certain to be already in his , with his fiancée by his side .