four in the afternoon
It was not at all unlikely that Vanamee would spend half the night before the high altar in the church . He took himself away , his mind still busy with Vanamee 's extraordinary life and character . But , as he descended the hill , he was startled by a prolonged and raucous cry , discordant , very harsh , thrice repeated at exact intervals , and , looking up , he saw one of Father Sarria 's peacocks balancing himself upon the topmost wire of the fence , his long tail trailing , his neck outstretched , filling the air with his stupid outcry , for no reason than the desire to make a noise . About an hour later , toward four in the afternoon , Presley reached the spring at the head of the little canyon in the northeast corner of the Quien Sabe ranch , the point toward which he had been travelling since early in the forenoon . The place was not without its charm . Innumerable live-oaks overhung the canyon , and Broderson Creek -- there a mere rivulet , running down from the spring -- gave a certain coolness to the air . It was one of the few spots thereabouts that had survived the dry season of the last year .