three o'clock
His uneasiness was increased by the ever-present sense that he could not cope with the other boys at their sports . He let them jostle him , and often would run , after his self-respect would goad him to jostle back . Mealy was glad when the group came to the deep shade of the woods and walked slowly . It was three o'clock when the boys reached the swimming-hole . There the great elm-tree , with its ladder of exposed roots , stretched over the water . Piggy Pennington , stripped to the skin , ran whooping down the sloping bank , splashed over the gravel at the water 's edge , and plunged into the deepest water . Old Abe followed cautiously , bathing his temples and his wrists before sousing all over .