ten o'clock
Presently he appeared again , his red nightcap still on his head , for he was afraid that the wind would blow a hat off , and carrying an unlighted lantern in his hand . `` Now , Colonel , I 'm ready , sir , if you be ; '' and they started . The gale was , if anything , fiercer than ever . Indeed , there had been no such wind in those parts for years , or rather centuries , as the condition of the timber by ten o'clock that morning amply testified . `` This here timpest must be like that as the Squire tells us on in the time of King Charles , as blew the top of the church tower off on a Christmas night , '' shouted George . But Harold made no answer , and they fought their way onward without speaking any more , for their voices were almost inaudible . Once the Colonel stopped and pointed to the sky-line .