four o'clock
I found a man lyin ' hidden under a lot o ' laurels , and I thought at first he was up to no good , and I was a-goin ' to collar him to take him to the house , when he caught me by the wrist without gettin ' up from the ground , but lookin ' at me very earnest , as I could see by the way his face was turned toward me in the darkness , and asked me who I was , and what I was , and what I had to do with the folks at the Court . `` There was somethin' in the way he spoke that told me he was a gentleman , though I did n't know him from Adam , and could n't see his face ; and I answered his questions civil . '' ` I want to get away from this place , ' he said , ` without bein ' seen by any livin ' creetur , remember that . I 've been lyin ' here ever since four o'clock to-day , and I 'm half dead , but I want to get away without bein ' seen , mind that . ' `` I told him that was easy enough , but I began to think my first thoughts of him might have been right enough , after all , and that he could n't have been up to no good to want to sneak away so precious quiet . '' ` Can you take me to any place where I can get a change of dry clothes , ' he says , ` without half a dozen people knowin ' it ? ' `` He 'd got up into a sittin ' attitude by this time , and I could see that his right arm hung close by his side , and that he was in pain .