one o'clock
`` I dare all '' was the motto of his house , and it was fated to be tested in full measure ere he saw London again . Of these considerations the purring Mercury neither knew nor cared . She sang the song of the free highway , and sped through the leafy lanes of Surrey with a fine disregard for Acts of Parliament and the `` rules and regulations therein made and provided . '' Soon after one o'clock , however , she was compelled to climb the road to the downs in meek agreement with two lines of toiling chars-à-bancs and laboring motors . Just to show her mettle when the opportunity offered , she took the steep hill opposite the stands with a greyhound rush that vastly disconcerted a policeman who told Medenham to `` hurry up out of the dip . '' Then , having found a clear space , she dozed for a while , and Cynthia , like a true-born American , began the day 's business by giving the answer before either of her companions even thought of putting the Great Question . `` Grimalkin will win ! ''