It was half-past four o'clock by the testimony of the land-surveyor, my authority for the particulars of this story, a gentleman with the faintest curve of humour on his lips; it was half-past four o'...

It was half-past four o'clock by the testimony of the land-surveyor, my authority for the particulars of this story, a gentleman with the faintest curve of humour on his lips; it was half-past four o'clock on a May morning in the eighteen forties.  A dense white fog hung over the Valley of the Exe, ending against the hills on either side.