about
three o'clock
Towneley and I were of a different opinion , but we did not say what we thought . It was dreary work waiting all the morning amid such unfamiliar and depressing surroundings . I thought how the Psalmist had exclaimed with quiet irony , `` One day in thy courts is better than a thousand , '' and I thought that I could utter a very similar sentiment in respect of the Courts in which Towneley and I were compelled to loiter . At last , about three o'clock the case was called on , and we went round to the part of the court which is reserved for the general public , while Ernest was taken into the prisoner 's dock . As soon as he had collected himself sufficiently he recognised the magistrate as the old gentleman who had spoken to him in the train on the day he was leaving school , and saw , or thought he saw , to his great grief , that he too was recognised . Mr Ottery , for this was our attorney 's name , took the line he had proposed . He called no other witnesses than the rector , Towneley and myself , and threw himself on the mercy of the magistrate .