three o’clock in the
afternoon
The influence of the two hours ' probation upon _ my _ temperament was simply this . I felt physically incapable of remaining still in any one place , and morally incapable of speaking to any one human being , until I had first heard all that Ezra Jennings had to say to me . In this frame of mind , I not only abandoned my contemplated visit to Mrs. Ablewhite -- I even shrank from encountering Gabriel Betteredge himself . Returning to Frizinghall , I left a note for Betteredge , telling him that I had been unexpectedly called away for a few hours , but that he might certainly expect me to return towards three o'clock in the afternoon . I requested him , in the interval , to order his dinner at the usual hour , and to amuse himself as he pleased . He had , as I well knew , hosts of friends in Frizinghall ; and he would be at no loss how to fill up his time until I returned to the hotel . This done , I made the best of my way out of the town again , and roamed the lonely moorland country which surrounds Frizinghall , until my watch told me that it was time , at last , to return to Mr. Candy 's house .