three o’clock
` Oh yes ; but ` tis too bad -- too bad ! Could n't tell it to you for the world ! ' Stephen went across the lawn , hearing the vicar chuckling privately at the recollection as he withdrew . They started at three o'clock . The gray morning had resolved itself into an afternoon bright with a pale pervasive sunlight , without the sun itself being visible . Lightly they trotted along -- the wheels nearly silent , the horse 's hoofs clapping , almost ringing , upon the hard , white , turnpike road as it followed the level ridge in a perfectly straight line , seeming to be absorbed ultimately by the white of the sky . Targan Bay -- which had the merit of being easily got at -- was duly visited .