four o'clock
Then she sat up and listened -- a fair , grey-eyed woman in an old-fashioned night-cap . Her son had vanished before her eyes were opened , and now she turned and yawned and slept again . Will entered his own chamber near at hand , doffed for ever the velveteen uniform of water-keeper , and brought from a drawer an old suit of corduroy . Next he counted his slight store of money , set his ` alarum ' for four o'clock , and , fifteen minutes later , was in bed and asleep , the time then being a little after midnight . Clement Hicks paid an early visit to Will 's home upon the following morning . He had already set out to Okehampton with ten pounds of honey in the comb , and at Mrs. Blanchard 's cottage he stopped the little public vehicle which ran on market-days to the distant town . That the son of the house was up and away at dawn told his family nothing , for his movements were at all times erratic , and part of his duty consisted in appearing on the river at uncertain times and in unexpected localities .