six
o'clock
They streamed away after the fox , to whom I wished strong legs . I knew that with two young hounds they would never catch him , but I hoped that he would give them a good run before the sun killed the scent . I looked at the sun , now gloriously bright over all the world , putting a bluish glitter on to the shaking oak leaves of the wood . How came it that they had discovered my flight so soon since it could not be more than six o'clock , if as much ? I wondered if it had been the old carter , who had never really seen me . It might have been the old carter ; but doubtless he drummed for a good while on the door of the stable before anybody heard him . Or it might have been one of the garden sentries .