about two o'clock in the afternoon
The story of the day was familiar to him , from the narratives of scores of eye-witnesses , and he thought to himself , as he rode onward , wet , lashed by the furious rain , yet still of good cheer , -- `` Though the fight was lost , the cause was won . '' After leaving the lovely lateral valley which stretches eastward for two miles , at right angles to the course of the Brandywine , he entered a rougher and wilder region , more thickly wooded and deeply indented with abrupt glens . Thus far he had not met with a living soul . Chester was now not more than eight or ten miles distant , and , as nearly as he could guess , it was about two o'clock in the afternoon . With the best luck , he could barely reach his destination by nightfall , for the rain showed no signs of abating , and there were still several streams to be crossed . His blood leaped no more so nimbly along his veins ; the continued exposure had at last chilled and benumbed him . Letting the reins fall upon Roger 's neck , he folded himself closely in his wet cloak , and bore the weather with a grim , patient endurance .