two o'clock
The children were called to kiss him good-bye , and they clustered round him . `` Take care of them for me , '' he said , with a piercing wistfulness , to Christine . `` Take care of my boy . '' Then he turned brusquely to Saxby , making arrangements for a mule-cart to be ready at two o'clock to drive him into Cradock , the nearest large town , where he would have to spend the night before proceeding farther by rail . Christine could not but be struck by the words he had used , and mused over them wonderingly while she tucked Rita and Coral under their mosquito-curtains . It was her habit to spend this hour with Roddy and a story-book . But today he hovered restlessly , showing no inclination to settle down , and seeming full of some suppressed excitement .