Eight o'clock
`` Well , you be near there about eleven o'clock ; and if Miss Clara do n't walk that way , I 'll send down a boy with hinformation as to the henemy 's movements . Keep out of sight as much as you can . '' `` It shall be done , '' replied I. Old Peter paused for a moment ; then , raising his hand to his forehead with a military salute , turned away and left me . Eight o'clock struck ; a girl brought me in breakfast ; nine and ten sounded from an old clock in the bar , but the viands remained untasted . At a quarter past ten I rang the bell , and asked for a glass of water , drained it , and , pressing my hat over my brow , sallied forth . The morning had been misty when I first started , but during my sojourn at the inn the vapours had cleared away , and as , by the assistance of an old tree , I climbed over the paling of Barstone Park , the sun was shining brightly , wrapping dale and down in a mantle of golden light . Rabbits sprung up under my feet as I made my way through the fern and heather ; and pheasants , their varied plumage glittering in the sunlight , ran along my path , seeking to hide their long necks under some sheltering furze brake , or rose heavily on the wing , scared at the unwonted intrusion .