five o'clock
Well , I 'm not for troubling anyone 's mind , shure ; are n't we all , '' with a sweep of his powerful hand , `` shtriving to reach the same place , and if it 's what I expect , I 'll hope to meet ye ? There 's the gong for prayers , and I must fall in . '' Two days later Shafto received a letter written in a neat clerkly hand . It said : `` If you will be at the Great Goddema in the woods beyond the Turtle Tank by five o'clock to-morrow , Tuesday , you may hear news , -- M.R. '' The Great Goddema in the woods is a gigantic image in alabaster , encompassed by palm ferns , and half clothed in flowering creepers . The day of this particular shrine has sunk below the horizon ; worshippers are absent and the flowers laid around and about are entirely the contribution of Nature herself . Some day the shrine will disappear altogether , buried , like many others , in appreciative vegetation . As Shafto approached the rendezvous , he saw the _ pongye _ seated on the steps , engrossed in a book with a red cover , which he hastily thrust into some inner pocket as he rose to his feet .