six o'clock
`` If you were a younger man , Commandant , I could hatch up a pretty story out of to-night 's doings -- and if I did n't mind a laugh against myself . '' Annet , Linnet , and Matthew Henry sat side by side on the granite roller by the gate and watched their friend Jan eat his mid-morning snack -- or `` mungey , '' as it is called in the Islands . It consisted , as a rule , of a crust of bread , but Jan had supplemented it to-day with a turnip , which he cut into slices with his pocket-knife . He had been pulling turnips since six o'clock . `` And I reckon this 'll be the last time of askin ' , '' he commented , letting his eyes wander over the field as he seated himself on a shaft of the cart , which had been brought to await the loading . The children knew that they would soon be quitting Saaron , and that the prospect distressed their father and mother . They had discussed it , and agreed together that it was a great shame to be turned out of their home , and that the Lord Proprietor must be a hard-hearted tyrant ; but secretly they looked forward to the change with a good deal of excitement , not being of an age to fathom the troubles of grown-up folk .