four o'clock
Then Casper Blue was drawn aboard , and lower still sank the buoyant hydroplane , until both propellers were almost wholly submerged beneath the surface of the heaving billows that came rolling on , steadily and remorselessly . `` What time is it , Frank ? '' asked Andy , who w as breathing very hard after his recent exertions in helping both men to get a footing on the hydroplane . `` I think pretty close to four o'clock , '' replied the other , though he made no attempt to take out the little nickel watch , he always carried nowadays . The fact of the matter was that Frank did not dare trust Casper Blue . He could see that the little man was a desperate character , and that he did not view the prospect of being made a prisoner , and taken back to Bloomsbury with any great show of enthusiasm . In fact , it was a most unpleasant proposition for the bank thief to contemplate at all .