five o’clock in the evening
He had come to no towns since morning , and knew that he could n't expect to reach one of any size until the next day , anyhow . There were farmhouses , of course , but after his experience of the past week the lad felt that he would rather remain outdoors all night than risk being thrown in with another Hiram Tinch . He did n't know enough of farmers to know that few of them resemble Mr. Tinch in nature , and he did what he thought was best in keeping away from farmhouses after this . It was five o'clock in the evening , and Archie was beginning to feel very tired and hungry , when he came to the ruins of an old colonial mansion , which lay far back from the road , surrounded by trees , and almost hid with shrubbery . `` How interesting , '' he thought to himself . `` It looks just like the pictures of old ruins we see in geographies . I think I must go up and see what they look like at close range . ''