seven
o'clock
The time of his earlier appointment was not quite due ; but the lady knew her way . With a shiver the Captain turned and began to scramble up towards the summit . The sooner he found the shepherd 's hut the better : if it were open , he would enter ; it not , he could at least get some shelter under the lee of it . But he trusted that the Countess would keep her tryst punctually : she must be come and gone before seven o'clock , or she would risk an encounter with her enemy , Paul de Roustache . `` However I could probably smuggle her away ; and at least he should n't speak to her , '' he reflected , and was somewhat comforted . At the top of the hill the formation was rather peculiar . The crown once reached , the ground dipped very suddenly from all sides , forming a round depression in shape like a basin and at the lowest point some twenty feet beneath the top of its enclosing walls .