two o'clock
Suddenly the ringing of the chimes of Sloperton parish church met her ear . Alice knew that the sound signified that the marriage party had entered the church , and that she was secure from interruption . With a childish smile upon her lips , Alice Sedilia touched off the slow-match . At exactly two o'clock on the seventeenth , Rupert Sedilia , who had just returned from India , was thoughtfully descending the hill toward Sloperton manor . `` If I can prove that my aunt Lady Selina was married before my father died , I can establish my claim to Sloperton Grange , '' he uttered , half aloud . He paused , for a sudden trembling of the earth beneath his feet , and a terrific explosion , as of a park of artillery , arrested his progress . At the same moment he beheld a dense cloud of smoke envelop the churchyard of Sloperton , and the western tower of the Grange seemed to be lifted bodily from its foundation .