three o'clock
But his heart was over the water , and he felt that he could never settle alone and without Mary in that far-off land . He often wrote to his mother , and also to Mary . To the latter he expressed himself full of hope that he should be able to return home before many years were passed , and claim her for his own ; but he never alluded to the cause of his temporary banishment , nor did he reply to the questions which she put to him on the subject of total abstinence , except by saying briefly that she might trust him , and need not fear . `` Jacob , '' he said one day , as he concluded a letter to his mother , `` I believe the mail leaves to-day for England , and these letters ought to be in Adelaide by three o'clock . You shall ride in with them , and bring me out a ` Reporter . ' By the way , is n't there any one in the old country you would like to write to yourself ? Perhaps you do write , only I 've never noticed you doing so ! ''