About three in
the afternoon
Amen . ' `` With that he hung the two instruments ` pon the hook there ; and the boy stood up and thanked my father and shook hands ; and the pair went forth of the door , towards Helston . `` Somewhere on the road they took leave of one another ; but nobody saw the parting , nor heard what was said between them . About three in the afternoon the trumpeter came walking back over the hill ; and by the time my father came home from the fishing , the cottage was tidied up and the tea ready , and the whole place shining like a new pin . From that time for five years he lodged here with my father , looking after the house and tilling the garden ; and all the while he was steadily failing , the hurt in his head spreading , in a manner , to his limbs . My father watched the feebleness growing on him , but said nothing . And from first to last neither spake a word about the drummer , John Christian ; nor did any letter reach them , nor word of his doings .