Nearly nine o'clock
Dale 's meditations had carried him backward and forward through the past years , and left him against the blank wall of the present . He was sitting on the fallen beech tree in the woodland glade . The sun had set , and the night promised to be darker than recent nights ; when he looked at the grand gold watch given to him by his admirers , he could only just see its hands . Nearly nine o'clock . He had been here a long while . It was hours and hours since Norah went away . He sighed wearily , got up , and walked back to his empty home .