Three o’clock
Who 'd have thought it of Quatermain ? '' I heard Stephen mutter in the intervals of lighting his pipe . The morning went `` like lightning that is greased , '' as Sammy remarked . Three o'clock came and Mavovo and his following sacrificed a kid to the spirits of their ancestors , which , as Sammy remarked again , was `` a horrible , heathen ceremony much calculated to prejudice our cause with Powers Above . '' When it was over , to my delight , Babemba appeared . He looked so pleasant that I jumped to the conclusion that he brought the best of news with him . Perhaps that the king had pardoned us , or perhaps -- blessed thought -- that Brother John had really arrived before his time .