About ten o'clock
Real alcohol , however , was not wanting to his solitary meal . He drenched his coffee in the cognac he always carried about with him , and then , cigarette in hand , he fell back on the heap of bracken to read a while . The novel he sampled and threw away ; the anthology soon bored him ; and he spent the greater part of two hours lying on his back , smoking and thinking -- till it was safe to assume that the coast was clear round Great End Farm . About ten o'clock , he slipped noiselessly out of the hut , after covering up the fire to wait for his return , and hiding as far as he could the other traces of his occupation . The damp mist outside held all the wood stifled , and the darkness was profound . Stepping as lightly as possible , and using his torch with the utmost precaution , he gradually made his way to the edge of the wood , and the lip of the basin beyond it . On the bare down was enough faint moonlight to see by , and he extinguished his little lantern before leaving the wood .