four o'clock
He had noticed him and Jessie strolling along the river bank nearly every evening lately ; probably he was filling the girl 's mind with disagreeable untruths regarding her pastor . He believed young Neil capable of it . The knowledge of his perfect innocence in the past only served to increase his anger at anyone who had dared to malign him . He waited until four o'clock and then went up to the schoolmaster 's house and demanded an explanation . Mr. Watson confessed all he knew , making the story as much like the original as possible . It was not Donald but ` Liza Cotton that had told it , he explained . At first the victim of the tale could have laughed at the absurdity of it all , it seemed so trivial .