Three o'clock
The higher he got the more the mist broke up into fleeting clouds , which swept aside every few moments and let in a dim glimmer of moonlight on the scene . At the top of the ravine he shouted again ; but all was still . Even the wind was dying down , and the rain fell with a deadened sob at his feet . Three o'clock ! Wisdom had told him , the day they had been up there , that the top was only three-quarters of an hour beyond where he stood . Something still cried `` Excelsior '' within him , and without halting longer than to satisfy himself by another shout , he started on . How he achieved that tremendous climb he could never say .