five o'clock
he called out , and the chauffeur was startled by the harsh note in his employer 's generally kindly voice . On they sped down the great flank of the huge hill , past the hostelry where Nelson bid a last farewell to his Emma , on and on along narrow lanes , and between high hedges starred with autumn flowers . And then , when in a spot so wild and lonely that it might have been a hundred miles from a town -- though it was only some ten miles from Beechfield -- something went wrong with the engine of the car . Janet had proposed that tea should be at five o'clock , so as to give the visitor plenty of time to arrive . But from four onwards , all the younger folk were in a state of excitement and expectation -- Timmy running constantly in and out of the house , rushing to the gate , from whence a long stretch of road could be seen , till his constant gyrations got on his mother 's nerves , and she sharply ordered him to come in and be quiet . At a quarter to five the telephone bell rang and Jack languidly went to answer it . Then he came back into the drawing-room .