six o'clock
Tiring at length with the fruitless search he proposed , as the best way out of the difficulty , that he should write on the afternoon of the following day to Monsieur Alexander Dumas himself to explain to his honour where the island used to be and whether it still existed . `` What a blockhead you are , '' said the old man , `` but go on , go on ! '' Margari gave a great sigh and looked at the clock on the wall , but , alas ! it was still a long way from six o'clock . At last , however , while he was still reading , the clock _ did _ strike six . Margari instantly stood up in the middle of a sentence , marked the passage with his thumb-nail so as to know at what word to begin again on the following evening , turned down the leaf and closed the book . `` Well !