eight o'clock
They were not the customary loungers , but a small self-appointed committee of the Methodist fathers on the outlook for any of the flock who might stumble into the pitfall of the Temperance hall on their way to church . The visiting minister drove into the village , passed the hall in a whirl of dust , and hurried into the church . Dusk was falling , the lamps were lit in both gathering places and the light shone from the windows . It was now on the eve of eight o'clock , in another moment the meeting on the hill would open , and the Piper had not yet appeared . Marmaduke and Trooper , consulting in the middle of the street where there was a view of the hill up as far as the Lindsay gate , were growing anxious . It would be quite too bad if , after all their plans , the Piper should fail them . Trooper was for going after the missing musician , but Duke counselled patience .