about two o'clock
He was half inclined to say , `` Here , Roderick , I can bear this anxiety no longer . Let us get as near the deer as we can ; sight the rifle for a long distance , you whistle the stags on to their legs -- and I 'll blaze into the thick of them . Anything to get the shot over and done with ! '' Indeed , this intolerable waiting was about as bad a thing as could have happened to his nerves ; but it did not last quite as long as the keeper had anticipated ; for about two o'clock Roderick ascertained that the stags were up again and feeding . This was good news -- anything was good news , in fact , that broke in upon this sickening suspense ; had Lionel been informed that the deer had taken alarm and disappeared at full gallop , he would have said `` Amen ! '' and set out for home with a light heart . But , by and by , when it was discovered that the stags had gone over the ridge -- one of them remained on the crest for a long time , staring right across the valley , so that the stalkers dared not move hand or foot -- when this last sentinel had also withdrawn , the slouching and skulking devices of the morning had to be resumed .