five in the afternoon
I would not dine there , I told myself , but there must be an inn in the neighbourhood , where I could obtain some slight Christmas cheer , if I chose to embark upon the rather mild adventure of going up the river on this wintry holiday . It was years since I had been in England , and the thought of a solitary stroll by the Thames along a country towing-path was not so dismal as it might have been to those who had not tramped with the equanimity of custom through African jungles . Once the idea had taken root in my mind , I was impatient to carry it out . I would go , I decided , almost immediately , lunching at the nearest decent inn to Purley Lock , and turning up at Wildred 's house at four or five in the afternoon . I would spend an hour there , perhaps , and return to town in time for dinner . I had not got up particularly early , had breakfasted late , and by the time I was inclined to start it was past one o'clock . I had over an hour 's journey to Great Marlow , the nearest railway station , with a drive of some four miles to follow , before I could reach the Chimes Inn , which I was told was the only one within some distance of Purley Lock .