four
o'clock
-LSB- Illustration -RSB- The next day being Sunday , the Captain 's little friends did not go down to see him , and the day after being stormy , they could not . So , when Tuesday came , they were all the more eager for the visit that it had been delayed ; and accordingly they hurried off at a very early hour . Indeed , the old man was only too glad to have them come down at any time , for he had during these past few days become so used to their being with him , and he had taken such a fancy to them , that he felt himself quite lost and lonely when a day passed by without seeing them . He was , as we have already seen , rather afraid they might disturb him if he said , `` Come at any hour you please , '' instead of `` Come at four o'clock , or three , or two o'clock , '' as the case might be ; but he had discovered them to be such well-behaved and gentle children , that he made up his mind they could never trouble or annoy him . So when last they parted , he said to them , `` Come in the morning , if you like , and play all day about the grounds , and if I have work to do you must not mind . Nobody will disturb you '' ; -- and , in truth , there was nobody there to disturb them , for besides the old man and his boy , Main Brace , there was no living thing about the house , if we except two fine old Newfoundland dogs which the Captain had brought home with him from his last voyage , and which he called `` Port '' and `` Starboard . '' He had also a flock of handsome chickens , and some foreign ducks .