four o'clock
`` Nothing of what I told you , '' he whispered , there being others in the shop . `` But I can trust you , I see . '' She had now reached the end of this distressing business , and went listlessly along the street to attend to other errands . These occupied her till four o'clock , at which time she recrossed the market-place . It was impossible to avoid rediscovering Winterborne every time she passed that way , for standing , as he always did at this season of the year , with his specimen apple-tree in the midst , the boughs rose above the heads of the crowd , and brought a delightful suggestion of orchards among the crowded buildings there . When her eye fell upon him for the last time he was standing somewhat apart , holding the tree like an ensign , and looking on the ground instead of pushing his produce as he ought to have been doing . He was , in fact , not a very successful seller either of his trees or of his cider , his habit of speaking his mind , when he spoke at all , militating against this branch of his business .