one o'clock
Mr. Meekin , though not a patron of field sports , found something in the scene that reminded him of a blacksmith picking up horses ' feet to examine the soundness of their shoes . `` Upon my word , '' he said to himself , with a momentary pang of genuine compassion , `` it is a dreadful way to treat human beings . I do n't wonder at that wretched creature groaning under it . But , bless me , it is near one o'clock , and I promised to lunch with Major Vickers at two . How time flies , to be sure ! '' That afternoon , while Mr. Meekin was digesting his lunch , and chatting airily with Sylvia , Rufus Dawes began to brood over a desperate scheme . The intelligence that the investigation he had hoped for was not to be granted to him had rendered doubly bitter those galling fetters of self restraint which he had laid upon himself .