three o'clock
The boat was lying there as he had said . She found it to belong to the old man who had been with her at the Bill , and was in charge of his two younger sons . The trumpet-major helped her into it over the slippery blocks of stone , one of the young men spread his jacket for her to sit on , and as soon as they pulled from shore John climbed up the blue-grey cliff , and disappeared over the top , to return to the mainland by road . Anne was in the town by three o'clock . The trip in the stern of the lerret had quite refreshed her , with the help of the biscuits , which she had at last been able to eat . The van from the port to Overcombe did not start till four o'clock , and feeling no further interest in the gaieties of the place , she strolled on past the King 's house to the outskirts , her mind settling down again upon the possibly sad fate of the Victory when she found herself alone . She did not hurry on ; and finding that even now there wanted another half-hour to the carrier 's time , she turned into a little lane to escape the inspection of the numerous passers-by .