about noon
Strong gales may blow , but so long as they do not come from the dry east or frosty north there is no real severity of weather . It was such a Christmas week that year . Not one of the women or children had yet been forced to stay away from the sands on account of the cold . Upon Christmas eve there was a good day , though , a short one , before them , for it was low water about noon , and the high tide would not be in before six . All the daylight would be theirs . It was a chance not to be missed , for as the tides grew later in the day their time for fishing would be cut shorter . Almost every woman and child turned out through the gate with their nets in their hands .