six o'clock
I lounged lazily as soon as I got to the wood . Here and there the bubbling , brawling brook circled round a great stone , or a root of an old tree , and made a pool ; otherwise it coursed brightly over the gravel and stones . I stood by one of these for more than half an hour , or , indeed , longer , throwing bits of wood or pebbles into the water , and wondering what I could do to remedy the present state of things . Of course all my meditation was of no use ; and at length the distant sound of the horn employed to tell the men far afield to leave off work , warned me that it was six o'clock , and time for me to go home . Then I caught wafts of the loud-voiced singing of the evening psalm . As I was crossing the Ashfield , I saw the minister at some distance talking to a man . I could not hear what they were saying , but I saw an impatient or dissentient -LRB- I could not tell which -RRB- gesture on the part of the former , who walked quickly away , and was apparently absorbed in his thoughts , for though he passed within twenty yards of me , as both our paths converged towards home , he took no notice of me .