six o'clock
flared Hal . `` Aisy , aisy , son ! Do ye think I would be frying bacon in the middle of the night for a joke ? 'T is meself has been up this good hour and 't is six o'clock this very minute . ` Twill be daylight by the toime we be ready to start , '' returned Pat good-humoredly . Hal had it on the tip of his tongue to say that he did n't believe it , but by this time he was sufficiently awake to smell the bacon and hear it sizzle and sputter in the pan . Moreover , his companions were already kicking off their blankets , and he had the good sense to realize that Pat meant just what he said .