nine o'clock
This detail was set right in time , in about two months ; meanwhile a visit to his friends in the country would give him an opportunity to decide as to his future movements . The sojourn on the farm occupied three days , at the end of which he did what he knew he would do from the moment of meeting Mr. Beddoe . He bought a ticket for Bois Clair with almost the last money he had in the world , and within ten days of leaving Poussette 's the steamer plying on the river to St. Ignace deposited him at the familiar rickety wharf once more . It was nine o'clock and dark , with a light rain falling . The passengers , mostly tourists , were stepping off in that timorous way peculiar to people unaccustomed to the primitive , by the light of a lantern waveringly but officially displayed by Crabbe , the surly guide to whom Ringfield had given his letter , and behind Crabbe , a little higher up on the bank , stood Poussette , whose costume as usual was characteristic . He wore a checked tweed suit of light brown , a straw hat , and an enormous chef 's apron tied round his waist under his coat . Visions of fried bass or lunge , of potatoes _ sauté _ , and even of hot pancakes , danced before Ringfield 's weary eyes , for he was both tired and cold , and accordingly he gaily pushed his way through the loiterers and fresh arrivals until he reached his host .