nine o'clock
Jim , the driver , came into the kitchen at that moment on his way to bed , and unravelled the mystery of the map by showing that it was possible for Robbie 's friends to go off the Carlisle road towards Gaskarth and Wythburn at the village of Askham . Robbie was satisfied with this explanation , and did his best under the circumstances to rest content until nine o'clock with the harbor into which he had drifted . He succeeded more completely , perhaps , in this endeavor than might be expected , when the peril of his friends and his allegiance to Liza Branthwaite is taken into account . But when nine o'clock had come and gone , and still the coach stood in the yard of the inn , Robbie 's sense of duty overcame his appetite for what he would have called a `` spoag . '' It was usual for the Carlisle coach to await the coach from Lancaster , and it was because the latter had not yet arrived at Kendal that the former was unable to depart from it . Robbie 's impatience waxed considerably during the half-hour thence ensuing ; but when ten o'clock had struck , and still no definite movement was made , his indignation became boisterous . There were to be four inside passengers , all women ; and cold as the night might prove , Robbie 's seat must be outside .