six o'clock
Deringham smiled at his daughter . `` There are , as one might expect , men of somewhat different type in this country , but I prefer the first one , '' said he . Miss Deringham also fancied that she did so , though she did not admit it , and that evening was made acquainted with yet another and more different one . Horton as usual served supper at six o'clock , and all his guests were expected to partake of reasty pork , potatoes , flapjacks , green tea and fruits at the same table . To this he made no exception , and would not have done so for the premier , and when a small company of axemen and free prospectors filed in Deringham and his daughter took their places amidst the rest . The room was long and bare , boarded with rough-sawn cedar , and furnished chiefly by the benches that ran down either side of the plain table ; but the aromatic smell of the wood was stronger than that of stale tobacco , and the company avoided more than quietly respectful glances at the daintily-dressed Englishwoman . They were quiet men with grave and steady eyes , and though they ate as if feeding was a serious business , and they had no time to waste , there was nothing in their converse that jarred upon the girl .