a quarter after five
Fred hurried downtown again . The toboggan was not finished , but the work was under way . By dint of furious entreaties and representations of the emergency Fred induced them to hurry it up . It was not a long job , and by a quarter after five Fred was back at Mac 's room , accompanied by a messenger with the remodeled toboggan . The toboggan was of the usual pattern and shape , but the cushions had been removed , and a thirty-foot moose-hide thong attached for hauling . It was fitted with four short steel runners , only four inches high , which could be removed in a few minutes by unscrewing the nuts , so that it could be used as a sledge on ice or as a toboggan on deep snow . During Fred 's absence the other boys had been busy .