four o’clock
IT was half-past four o'clock -LRB- by the testimony of the land-surveyor , my authority for the particulars of this story , a gentleman with the faintest curve of humour on his lips -RRB- ; it was half-past four o'clock on a May morning in the eighteen forties . A dense white fog hung over the Valley of the Exe , ending against the hills on either side . But though nothing in the vale could be seen from higher ground , notes of differing kinds gave pretty clear indications that bustling life was going on there . This audible presence and visual absence of an active scene had a peculiar effect above the fog level .