ten o'clock
`` I never saw a knapsack with a head-piece before . '' `` You 'll find it an easy thing to carry , '' said his uncle . `` Try it , '' and Randy did so , and was astonished to learn how much the head-strap improved the carrying powers . The best part of the evening was spent in packing the things they had purchased , and it was not until after ten o'clock that the last of the bundles were ready and duly tagged . `` Now we have only a few more things to get , '' said Foster Portney , `` the most important of the whole outfit ; '' and as Randy and Earl looked at him blankly , he smiled in an odd way . `` What could three gold hunters do without picks , shovels , and pans ? '' `` To be sure ! ''