five
o'clock in the afternoon
` Twill spill us all out backward ! '' But it did nothing of the sort . It took them straight to Castle Cliff , `` nearly six thousand feet above the level of the sea , '' and there it stopped , before the front door of the hotel . It was about half-past five o'clock in the afternoon , and Mr. Templeton , who had been looking out for the tallyho , came down the steps to meet his guests . Mr. Templeton 's wife was just behind him . They both greeted the party as if they had all been old friends . The house , a large white one , stood as if in the act of climbing the hill .