five o'clock
The woman had walked all the way from Launceston , a distance of not less than a dozen miles . The youth had come from Bodmin , and he had covered nearly the same length of road . The afternoon was drawing to a close as they met . It was a November day , and darkness would be upon them by five o'clock . No one was near , for since the days of stage-coaches the traffic on this road has been small . Occasionally a farmer 's cart passes along , or again a vehicle of more ornamental description , used by those who wish to travel either to Bodmin or to Launceston . There is no railway station within ten miles of that drear region , and it seemed a fitting meeting-place for the couple who came there that day .