nearly four o'clock
`` Ra -- ats ! Good-bye , and long live the T. A. ! '' cried Alan , running off towards home . It was nearly four o'clock when they said good-bye at the Braeside gate , and it was rapidly getting dark . Marjory went quickly up the hill , fearing a reprimand from her uncle for being out so late . The day had been an eventful one , but its excitements were not yet over . As she hurried through the wood , she heard a sudden crackling and rustling amongst the fallen leaves and twigs , and a man came from behind a tree and stood facing her .