two o'clock
Sure was it , too , that the enterprise Deede Dawson had planned for himself and Allen at the Abbey must result in their discomfiture and capture . Walter would see to that also . But concerning Ella 's position doubt would insist on intruding , till at last he decided that the very moment the Brook Bourne Spring business was satisfactorily finished with he would hurry at his best speed to Bittermeads and make sure of her safety . Absorbed in these uneasy thoughts , he had insensibly slackened speed , and looking at his watch he saw that it was two o'clock , and that he was still , by the milestone at the roadside , eight miles from his destination . He wished to be there a little before the time arranged for him by Deede Dawson , and he increased his pace till he came to a spot where the path he had to take branched off from the road he had been following . At this spot a heavy country lad was sitting on a gate by the wayside , and as Dunn approached he clambered heavily down and slouched forward to meet him . `` Be you called Robert Dunn , mister ? ''