Six o'clock
Moreover , he suspected Nick Grylls was not the man to stoop to mere mischief-making ; and he wondered apprehensively what next move he contemplated . Looking at his charming Natalie , he could conceive of a man stooping to any villainy to possess her . However , he strove to keep her spirits up -- and his own -- with the oft-expressed belief that the Bishop would not leave Pierre Toma 's until the next morning . Six o'clock had passed before they turned into the rough little clearing on the river bank . The horses were done up . They had passed no other sign of habitation the whole way . A bent old man with a snowy thatch came hobbling out of the cabin .