four o'clock in the morning
They had stopped exhausted half-way up hills , they had been driven through streams of turbulent water , they had slipped down and become entangled with the harness ; but he and his little lantern had been always ready , and when the mishap was set right , I had never heard any variation in his cool , `` Get on , my lads ! '' The steadiness and confidence with which he had directed our journey back I could not account for . Never wavering , he never even stopped to make an inquiry until we were within a few miles of London . A very few words , here and there , were then enough for him ; and thus we came , at between three and four o'clock in the morning , into Islington . I will not dwell on the suspense and anxiety with which I reflected all this time that we were leaving my mother farther and farther behind every minute . I think I had some strong hope that he must be right and could not fail to have a satisfactory object in following this woman , but I tormented myself with questioning it and discussing it during the whole journey . What was to ensue when we found her and what could compensate us for this loss of time were questions also that I could not possibly dismiss ; my mind was quite tortured by long dwelling on such reflections when we stopped .