about two o’clock
The farther south we came , the darker grew the mild-eyed oxen our automobile frightened . At Biarritz and beyond they were pale biscuit-coloured ; here , the sun seemed to have baked them to a richer brown . Nevertheless , that sun had no warm welcome for us to-day . We were nipped by the bitter wind , which struck us the more coldly as we were hungry ; and about two o'clock we were not sorry to see in the middle of a wide-stretching plain , the Concha de Alava -- a large town which we knew to be Vitoria . Luncheon there might be counted upon . It was too chilly for a picnic meal to be feasible with ladies , therefore Carmona 's car must stop for an hour or two , and it was clear now that he would go by way of Burgos ; consequently , it was on the cards that Angèle de la Mole 's letter would be delivered by hand . We sneaked stealthily into Vitoria , glancing furtively about for a large grey Lecomte ; but it was not long before we caught sight of it in the distance , in the main street , and drawn up before the principal hotel .