three o'clock
Later he changed the order , and directed that his team and two-seated sleigh be brought to the door . It had occurred to him that there was a bare possibility that he might have a passenger on his return trip . Then he arrayed himself in knee-high rubber boots , a heavy overcoat , and a fur cap . At three o'clock he entered his sleigh and directed his driver to proceed with all reasonable haste to Cobb 's Corners . Out in the country where the winds of winter had piled the snow into long heaps , the beaten track was getting soft , and it was necessary to exercise some care in order to prevent the horses from slumping through the drifts to the road-bed . And on the westerly slope of Baldwin 's Hill the ground in the middle of the road was bare for at least forty rods . But , from that point on , whether his progress was fast or slow , Colonel Butler scrutinized the way ahead of him , and the farm-houses that he passed , with painstaking care .