half past seven
They had scarcely left when the men of the glee party came running up , furiously demanding to see those who had insulted the girl . As they could get no satisfactory answer , one of their number ran back and presently returned , bringing the girl with him , the other young women following a little way behind . She said she could not see the men they were looking for , so they went down to the public house to see if they could find them there , some of the Rushton 's men accompanying them and protesting their indignation . The time passed quickly enough and by half past seven the brakes were loaded up again and a start made for the return journey . They called at all the taverns on the road , and by the time they reached the Blue Lion half of them were three sheets in the wind , and five or six were very drunk , including the driver of Crass 's brake and the man with the bugle . The latter was so far gone that they had to let him lie down in the bottom of the carriage amongst their feet , where he fell asleep , while the others amused themselves by blowing weird shrieks out of the horn . There was an automatic penny-in-the-slot piano at the Blue Lion and as that was the last house of the road they made a rather long stop there , playing hooks and rings , shove-ha ` penny , drinking , singing , dancing and finally quarrelling .