five o'clock
We had wasted some eight or ten minutes on this interview , and 't was high time to speed on our journey if we were to reach the place of ambush before the convoy . As we marched , I told Cludde the purport of my talk with Joe , and he agreed that the course I had insisted on was the right one , though he feared Punchard would have a sorry time when he came within the clutches of the man who bore a long-standing grudge against him . I confess that I had clean forgotten the matter of the barrel rolling , and being now reminded of it , felt greatly concerned at having sent poor Joe into the very jaws of danger , but 't is idle to repent , and I could only hope that we should get to the house in time to prevent any irremediable harm . 'T was nigh five o'clock when we came to the copse fringing the road -LRB- a rough cart track -RRB- from the coast . Noah went out stealthily to inspect the road for traces of the convoy , and told us that we were in time ; the wagons had not yet come up . We waited patiently , and I took advantage of the interval to repeat the instructions I had previously given to the negroes . About half an hour after our arrival we heard a creaking in the distance , and soon the convoy came in sight -- three six-horsed wagons , with two negroes in each , and two overseers on horseback , carrying long whips , and riding side by side in the rear .