About four o'clock
They could not go fast , however , for Tom 's horse was all but exhausted . `` I think he has learned his lesson , '' said Tom to his brothers . And so it proved , for after that single `` kick-up , '' the horse gave them no further trouble . About four o'clock that afternoon , they rode into a place called Harpertown , which was something of a horse-trading center . Some of the horse dealers thought they had come in to do some trading , but lost interest when the boys told them that they were simply on a journey to the Denton plantation . `` We may as well stop here for a while , '' said Sam . `` Perhaps we can get a good supper at the hotel . ''