two o’clock
Then the jerk following a hasty letting-in of the clutch , and they were off again . For some time they climbed steadily . But Nikky , who knew the road , bided his time . Then at last , at two o'clock , came the steep ascent to the very crest of the mountain , and a falling-back , gear by gear , until they climbed slowly in the lowest . Nikky unfolded his length quietly . The gears were grinding , the driver bent low over his wheel . Very deliberately , now that he knew what he was going to do , Nikky unbuttoned his tunic and slipped it off .