three o'clock
`` Rita 's only a child , and a disobedient one at that , '' replied Mrs. Bays , but Billy 's words put a new thought into her head that was almost sure to cause trouble for Rita . When Billy and Dic went around the house to fetch Billy 's horse , Rita was sitting at the window upstairs . She smiled through her tears and tossed a note to Dic , which he deciphered by the light of the moon . It was brief , `` Please meet me to-morrow at the step-off -- three o'clock . '' The step-off was a deep hole in the river halfway between Bays 's and Bright 's . Dic and Billy walked up the river path a little time in silence . Billy was first to speak .