about one o'clock in the afternoon
Popof , to whom I applied for information , told me that the Mongol had got in at Tchertchen . `` When he arrived , '' he said , `` the manager spoke to him for a minute , from which I concluded that he also was one of the staff of the Grand Transasiatic . '' I had not noticed Faruskiar during my walk . Had he alighted at one of the small stations between Tchertchen and Tcharkalyk , where we ought to have been about one o'clock in the afternoon ? No , he and Ghangir were on the gangway in front of our car . They seemed to be in animated conversation , and only stopped to take a good look toward the northeastern horizon . Had the Mongol brought some news which had made them throw off their usual reserve and gravity ?